What is Yung Gravy's net worth? Rick Astley, 56, sues rapper for copying ‘Never Gonna Give You Up' vocals
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rick Astley has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against rapper Yung Gravy for allegedly ripping off his vocals. He filed the lawsuit on Thursday, January 26, 2023, in Los Angeles, accusing Gravy's Billboard Hot 100 single ‘Betty (Get Money)’ of using an imitation of Astley’s voice from the 1987 hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.
According to TMZ, Astley has claimed that Gravy, whose real name is Matthew Raymond Hauri, and his producers, which includes Dillon Francis, “conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr Astley’s voice throughout the song.” The 56-year-old singer is also suing producer Nick Seeley (aka Popnick), the vocal impersonator, in the lawsuit filed in California.
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Yung Gravy admits he 'basically remade' Rick Astley’s voice
The outlet states that Gravy licensed the instrumental portion of the song, however, not Astley’s voice. Astley’s lawsuit also includes a Billboard interview in August 2022 where Gravy where admits he “basically remade” Astley’s voice. He was asked, "How did you get the Rick Astley 'Never Gonna Give You Up' sample cleared?" To which, he replied, "I always thought that sample would be sick to do something with. I just never figured it was clearable. Somebody who had part-ownership of the rights to the sample hit me up like, 'We f–k with you, you should try it out.' My boy Nick, who does a lot of sample replays and recreating original samples, we basically remade the whole song. Had a different singer and instruments, but it was all really close because it makes it easier legally. We said, 'Let’s try to clear it and see what happens.' At first, two of the three writers that had to approve it, approved it and one guy wanted us to make it a little bit cleaner. So then I had to go back and change lyrics, so there is an earlier version. Overall, it’s kinda the same thing, but there’s a dirty version that sounds like a Gravy song with more cuss words."
'Rick needs to give it up'
Following the filing of the lawsuit, many social media users were quick to react to the news. One of many applauded Ashley and said, “You go, Rick!!” An individual wrote, “Yung Gravy getting sued for imitating Rick Astley's voice is INSANE.” Another commented, "I mean I like Yung Gravy, and the song kinda sucked, but would this not fall under some sorta fair use/parody situation?"
yung gravy getting sued for imitating rick astley's voice is INSANE
— bruh (@coal69420) January 27, 2023
I mean I like Yung Gravy, and the song kinda sucked, but would this not fall under some sorta fair use/parody situation?
— Existential Shred (@Jesse_Dubya) January 27, 2023
One asked, "He did all that without authorisation? In this era that's just careless." While one took a dig at Astley and said, "You mean only hit…. Lemme guess which one. Rick needs to give it up… and be let down."
He did all that without authorisation? In this era that's just careless 😅
— AneUnhu 🎶🎭🎬 (@AneUnhu) January 27, 2023
You mean only hit…. Lemme guess which one. Rick needs to give it up… and be let down
— Peanut (@peanut356778887) January 27, 2023
What is Yung Gravy's net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Gravy, who was born in Rochester, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in marketing, has a net worth of $2 million. As per Pulltab Sports, he first earned recognition in 2017 when his songs 'Mr Clean' and '1 Thot 2 Thot Red Thot Blue Thot' gained traction on SoundCloud. And since then, he has been on several global tours and released albums like 'Sensational'. 'Gasanova', and 'Marvelous'. 'Betty (Get Money)', which was released in June 2022, is his first track to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
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