You know the song of the summer isn’t really the song of the summer if there isn’t some dramz involved!
And Blurred Lines has got buckets full of dramz because Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. are being sued over it!
The boyz aren’t being sued over the controversy attached to the summer hit, instead it’s the alleged similarities it has to some of Marvin Gaye‘s work that is stirring the pot of boiling trouble.
Marvin’s family and Bridgeport Music, which owns some of Funkadelic‘s work, claim the song sounds an awful lot like two songs already out there. They not only claim Blurred Lines has the same “feel” and “sound” of Marvin’s Got to Give It Up, but they also claim it’s similar to Funkadelic’s Sexy Ways!
But the boyz of summer aren’t giving in just like that. They’ve apparently responded to the lawsuit and commented:
“Plaintiffs, who have the utmost respect for and admiration of Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic and their musical legacies, reluctantly file this action in the face of multiple adverse claims from alleged successors in interest to those artists. Defendants continue to insist that plaintiffs’ massively successful composition, Blurred Lines, copies ‘their’ compositions … But there are no similarities between plaintiffs’ composition and those the claimants allege they own, other than commonplace musical elements. Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else’s composition.”
Robin, Pharrell and T.I. are apparently now seeking a declaration in this case that their song is an original, and that just because it has a sound reminiscent of an era doesn’t mean it is a copycat.
And we suspect they’ve got a pretty good case going considering former Funkadelic leader George Clinton is backing the boyz up! He tweeted:
No sample of #Funkadelic's 'Sexy Ways' in @RobinThicke's 'Blurred Lines' – yet Armen Boladian thinks so? We support @RobinThicke @Pharrell!
— George Clinton (@george_clinton) August 16, 2013
Talk about friends in high places!
[Image via David Bodrick/DMBJ/WENN.]