Recently, Will.i.am used Mat Zo and Arty’s track, Rebound, without their permission. In light of these events, we have decided to gather all the tracks that Will.i.am has supposedly taken without permission to create one master guide of Will.i.am thievery.
To start, there are a few tracks on his new album that are scarily similar to previously-produced electronic songs. It seems that Will.i.am used another Arty track without permission, this one is Kate and can be heard in Will’s track #thatPOWER featuring Justin Bieber:
Also Will.i.am‘s track Bang Bang off his new album sounds eerily similar to Epic and a Mike Candy’s remix:
Sandro Silva and Quintino at :45
Mike Candys at 3:10
Going back to 2011, Will.i.am‘s group, The Black Eyed Peas, released a track called The Time (Dirty Bit). Many fans of electronic music immediately compared the track to Deadmau5’s remix of Medina’s You & I.
Also back in 2011 when Will.i.am called himself Zuper Blahq, he released a song called Dance which people compare to Boys Noize’s Yeah:
More relevant is that even Daft Punk ran into issues with “Will.i.Steal” with the sample used in Around the World, however Daft Punk never let Will release the track. You can still compare the two down below.
Will.i.am– I Got It From My Mama (Remix) and Daft Punk’s- Around The World
The thievery continues even into 2013 with Will’s collaboration track with Britney Spears, “Scream & Shout” with an immense likeness to Tulisa “Scream & Shout”, Magazine, The Sun, has reported that, ”
Tulisa co-wrote the original, then called I Don’t Give A F***, with Will.i.am’s right-hand man JEAN BAPTISTE for her debut album, The Female Boss.Some copies of the album had even been created with the song on them until a battle with Will kicked off.When the BLACK EYED PEAS man heard the track he decided to take off sections written by Tulisa, re-record it and get Britney on board. And that’s how she ended up on it with the same accent as the N-Dubz singer.”
Scream & Shout
Something comes to mind when you see a particular artist that has gotten away with so many musical thefts; Why is it that these things can happen? Is it how Will.i.am said in his recent Associated Press interview that it’s “Not his fault” and “What does he know?”; Or is it part of a greater fault of the mainstream music industry where a multi-millionaire can do what he pleases because of his deep pockets?
Interesting article. Quite sad that he can get away with this. But I guess with so much music around these days it’s hard not to recreate an existing sound. But out write stealing, well that’s just wrong.
If you think of it many mainstream artists can rip off underground artists for masterpieces and get away with it just like this and sadly they get away with it fuck you will.i.am
major douche bag.
meh… the only song he actually stole was rebound. all the rest may sound similar but plenty of artist have done this for hundreds of years so I think people are reading to much into that aspect. however I am sure he is going to pay for the rebound steal.
meh… the only song he actually stole was rebound. all the rest may sound similar but plenty of artist have done this for hundreds of years so I think people are reading to much into that aspect. however I am sure he is going to pay for the rebound steal.
You’re kidding right? Both the Daft and Boys Noize thefts are DEAD ON and solid 10-30 seconds of the track!
You’re kidding right? Both the Daft and Boys Noize thefts are DEAD ON and solid 10-30 seconds of the track!
Lol , radio killed EDM , but you can’t ever fuck with the original!
edm aint dead…
I have been shouting this for 6 months now….
The irony of this post is that it itself is stealing from another more detailed “timeline of tracks stolen by will.i.am” that wasn’t even credited until called out. Click through the Sound Is Style link for a better explanation of what actually happened in some of these cases.
You guys missed Tung! He has a song in the new album that sounds exactly like Tung!
It’s just sad how he gets credit for someone else’s hard work..
Yeah, I’m sayin tho that “time off my life” is a lyrical rip off of some 90’s (or 80’s to drunk to check) shit too, it’s all around, shame on not being more creative, but fuck it good for your ass wiill.i.scam, I’m gonna go rip off some shit, look for me on Billboard top 100 in 6 months!
Everyone knows that one but Deniz Koyu let him use that one.
Here’s another one: He ripped off Adam Freeland in 2009.
http://www.prefixmag.com/news/black-eyed-peas-pay-off-freeland-after-stealing-hi/34998/
does EDM really want to get into going after people for jacking beats/melodies/samples?
There is so many more rapid copies of tracks out there..i don’t think his stealing is that bad considered to what I’ve heard..i heard ALOT worse with whole rippings of Avicii music straight on itunes amongst some of it..:)
Actually this isn`t all… u`ve missed one.
Last year will.i.am produced a single for the Rita Ora debut album – Fall In Love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FajA7a77_94
it`s a clear rip-off of the first more popular Dada Life rmx from 2008/2009 – Handguns from Alex Gopfer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q6v5cGSS9E
Why not….this shit is unacceptable for anyone to do… most edm artists have not been sampling uncleared material for the use of profit since the mid 90’s/early 2000’s and the initial enforcement of copyright in the hop hop scene
why does will.i.steal even make music? nothing but overrated melodies. Hope anjunabeats, arty & matzo have gotten some sort of reward for this.
why does will.i.steal even make music? nothing but overrated melodies. Hope anjunabeats, arty & matzo have gotten some sort of reward for this.
its fools like these that give sampling a bad name..
They should litigate against him.
all mainstream music sounds the same anyway 😛 this guy is a fag who is trying to look different…….screw him.
Join this to make a stand:
https://www.facebook.com/events/225427364248474/
yaawww! I dint hear one shit sound copied- souds alike but not copied, its still allowed to make a tune tht sounds like another no? considering he’s trying to reacreate said copied songs – dnt know bout u but everysingls one sounded different to me –
yaawww! I dint hear one shit sound copied- souds alike but not copied, its still allowed to make a tune tht sounds like another no? considering he’s trying to reacreate said copied songs – dnt know bout u but everysingls one sounded different to me –
Oh, hey – here’s some stuf he took straight from an Ableton Tutorial, too.
http://youtu.be/9Okf4i9Q1Pg
Oh, hey – here’s some stuf he took straight from an Ableton Tutorial, too.
http://youtu.be/9Okf4i9Q1Pg
Meh, at least Will.I.Am did some edit, tweaking and stuffs. Unlike Flo-rida
yeah but at least flo rida gives credit to the artists he steals from, and he propably also ask the artist before he even begins making the track
the reward that arty, mat zo and anjunabeats have gotten is propably more listeners
I think people are being a little ignorant… up until now I had never noticed will.i.am’s tracks to just a little similar to the other tracks which I have listened to plenty of time and still do. what william is doing is not stealing, it’s called being influenced. they are influences in his songs. it’s what every artist does now a days.
How GREED wil kill EDM Soon!!
black people stealing. I’d have never guessed.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=454372734643976&set=a.253408168073768.60062.253133488101236&type=1&theater
@Brian Hinson’s point is that the trail never ends in EDM, edm is notorious for mixing remixing ripping and excessive sampling. not saying i dont love the music and culture, just saying that this shit goes on allll the time. only time people care is when they notice, and most dont. the issue is drawing the line between sampling and straight up stealing. dont even try to start because 80%+ of all kick, snare or percussion samples in an electronic song are sampled, and if you read the fineprint, even THAT is illegal. on we go.
unfortunate but too true
trance is back!
no it’s not
no it’s not
As disgusting as the “karaoke” thing he did to Rebound was, let’s be honest with ourselves: Dirty Bit sounds *nothing* like You & I.
You forgot Fergie – Fergalicious vs J.J. Fad – Supersonic.
Will.i.am co-wrote Fergalicious.
http://soundsjustlike.com/fergies-fergalicious-sounds-like-jj-fads-supersonic/
hehehe
He also stole another Boys Noize track and called it Here We Go Now and stole Scream and Shout off Tulisa.
I don’t know why he does this as he can make his own beats.