Young Gravy Is getting a legal rick-rolling from the man himself… Rick Astley An aspiring rapper is suing for allegedly ripping the singer’s vocal from his most popular song.
Astley filed legal documents Thursday in Los Angeles alleging that Gravy’s wildly popular “Betty (Get Money)” uses an impersonated version of his voice from 1987’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
In documents obtained by TMZ, Astley says Gravy and his producers — including Dillon Francis — “conspired to include a deliberate, almost indistinguishable imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice throughout the song.” He is also suing Nick Seeley (aka Bubnick), a voice impersonator.
Astley says he never gave Gravy, or anyone involved with Betty (Get Money), permission to use or impersonate his voice — and because Gravy did, it ruined any future opportunity for Rick to collaborate with another artist in the future.
We have to say, though, that Gravy licensed the instrumental from an Astley ’80s song…just not his voice.
What’s more… Astley’s lawsuit cites some instances where Gravy claimed he knew he was in murky territory to impersonate Rick, including an interview with Billboard where he said he “remade ‘Rick’s voice,’ because it makes it Easier legally.”
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“Never Gonna Give You Up” was a huge hit for Astley, shooting to number one. “Betty” was Gravy’s most successful single to date – reaching Gold in the US, Canada and Australia.
Astley sues for millions of dollars.
