The Sherp put together a timeline of tracks stolen by will.i.am!
Fans were shocked and infuriated when will.i.am blatantly dipped his hands into the dance music territory by ripping off Mat Zo & Arty’s ‘Rebound’ to create his song ‘Let’s Go’.
In case you haven’t heard the comparison yet, here are the two tracks, side by side:
After hearing that, it’s stupefying to know that will.i.am has been a seven-time Grammy Award winner. It’s time to turn the clocks back and run through some of the notable rip offs by him:
1. Fergie – Fergalicious – ripped from – J.J. Fad – Supersonic
You probably remember the track ‘Fergalicious’ from Fergie’s debut album ‘The Dutchess’ that released back in 2006. Perhaps what you don’t know is that will.i.am copied it from J.J. Fad’s ‘Supersonic’.
2. Fergie – Voodoo Doll – ripped from – Groundation – Waterfall
Will.i.am was sued by Grounded Music for their track ‘Voodoo Doll’ by Fergie which was “substantially and strikingly similar” to ‘Waterfall’ – a song recorded in 2000 by the reggae group Groundation. Although not as strong a case as the first one, you can compare the tunes and give your own verdict:
Groundation – Waterfall
Fergie – Voodoo Doll
3. Will.I.Am – I Got It From My Momma (Remix) – ripped from – Daft Punk – Around The World
For this remix, will.i.am used an uncleared remix of Daft Punk’s ‘Around The World’. He even went a step further by creating the Human After All-inspired video that opens with the repeated expression “believe it or not, this is a remix.” Goes without saying, Daft Punk refused will.i.am permission to release this track.
4. The Black Eyed Peas – Party All The Time – ripped from – Adam Freeland – Mancry
This one is indisputable. will.i.am had an out-of-court cash settlement with producer Adam Freeland where he admitted to the unfair theft.
5. Zuper Blahq – Dance – ripped from – Boys Noize – Yeah
Now don’t get confused – ‘Zuper Blahq’ is just another pseudonym for will.i.am. After the German producer complained on Twitter, the song will.i.am renamed as ‘Dance’ was muted on YouTube and had the caption “This video previously contained a copyrighted audio track. Due to a claim by a copyright holder, the audio track has been muted.” Amusingly, the track by will.i.am still exists on Soundowl under his name. It appears he didn’t even take the effort to make slight modifications to this track.