S. Samuel
Miami rapper Monty $$ has stepped forward to call out Busta Rhymes and Pharrell Williams for allegedly jacking his record for the current, Internet-buzzing "Twerk It" anthem.
According to Monty, the music duo completely jacked his catchy track and put their names on top of it.
Last week, hip hop fans rejoiced when new song “Twerk It” by Pharrell Williams and Busta Rhymes appeared on websites. Local Miami rapper Monty $$ was furious, however. He already had a song called “Twerk It” with what he says are eerily similar features. “It’s the same song, they just copied it and put it out,” says Monty $$. “They are coming down to Miami and blatantly disrespecting me.” Monty $$, meanwhile, says his song has been “stolen” by rich outsiders who don’t know Miami or give anything back to it. “They come to Miami and disrespect the city by taking its music,” he says. (Miami New Times)
While Monty did not have direct contact with Busta or Pharrell, he said an online post could have determined his track’s fate.
Monty $$ says he shared “Twerk It” on the Facebook page of a friend who works for Pharrell, but the friend mysteriously deleted it. Then, just last week, Pharrell dropped his own song of the same name. At first, the friend denied passing the song onto to Pharrell. But Monty $$ says he secretly recorded a conversation in which his friend admitted that one “Twerk It” was the template for the other. But are the songs really that similar? Monty $$ admits that his is “track music,” while Pharrell’s relies heavily on Busta Rhymes’s lyrics. (Miami New Times)
The track bubbled across the Internet late last week.
Busta Rhymes and Pharrell always have the potential to create something interesting and unique when they link up. Busta’s high-energy approach, commanding vocal presence and willingness to take risks blends perfectly with Pharrell’s boundless creativity. “Twerk It” draws from Busta’s Jamaican roots, as he chats, in a throaty patois, things that would make Vanessa Del Rio blush. (Smoking Section)
Busta’s new record is reportedly his first official Cash Money single.
There’s no paper-thin Vegas sparkle to be found on “Twerk It”, Busta’s first single on Cash Money, just a sparse track full of wide-open spaces. And lots and lots of bass– the kind that leaves nothing but dust in its wake. The whole thing bubbles like chemical solutions in conical flasks (Pharrell has said there was literally boiling water involved in the song’s creation), and Busta leans into the track with his thickest Jamaican patois. The song’s kinetic enough that it works just as well in locations that aren’t lit by fluorescence and smell like one-dollar bills. (Pitchfork)
Check out both versions:
