Childish Gambino hit song 'This is America' gets criticized for being a rip off from another artist
Childish Gambino (Donald McKinley Glover Jr) released the song 'This is America' in May and within minutes the music video gained millions of views. However, the singer is now being accused of ripping off the song from another artist. As reported by Daily Mail, the singer is being accused of copying the meaning as well as the tune of the music from Jase Harley's track American Pharaoh which was released in 2016.
Despite this, Jase did not have any ill feelings towards this. Taking to social media, Jase made it clear that he was 'extremely humbled' with the comparison between two songs but not let the criticism 'dilute' the artists' message about the injustice and corruption that exists. "I feel extremely humbled to be recognized and labeled as one of the original inspirations for one of the most important pieces of music and visual art of our time," he wrote.
"I appreciate all the love and support! But PLEASE DON’T let this controversy dilute the message me and @childishgambino are trying to convey," he continued. "We are speaking about injustices we’ve encountered and he’s helped to provide a platform for all our voices to be heard," Jase added that the meaning behind the song is what one should focus on.
"Let’s not discredit him for that! The focus should be on affecting change in our communities and in building equality. This is bigger than me and him and bigger than music. Let’s not lose focus," he wrote adding hashtags '#NoOneWinsWhenTheFamilyFeuds.' Even though Jase seemed to take pride in the comparison made between the two songs, Donald's manager had something else to say.
In the now deleted tweet, he wrote, "This song is 3 yrs old, and we have pro tools files to prove it. But f— you and your moms, and your future fetuses. Stay blessed," he wrote. The song also features background vocals of artists like Young Thug, Slim Jxmmi, BlocBoy JB, 21 Savage, and Quavo. The music video of the song was directed by Japanese-American filmmaker Hiro Murai.
The song became a hit on its release and debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song resembles various incidents that took place in America. It features a gospel-style choir and shows images of violence. There were many who criticized the song for the violent display of act. However, there were others who praised the song for showing the reality that everyone mostly denied. Meanwhile, people had some views about Donald copying the song. One person wrote on Twitter, "Where there's a hit there's a writ! If 'Blurred Lines' had stiffed, no one would have said a word!" While another said, "I wonder if they used the same producer or reference track? While not the same, lots of obvious similarities."