Rick Astley never thought he’d get famous, again, over a song he released in 1987, but here we are. So much so that “rickrolled” is a new dictionary term (scroll down for the explanation) and the latest victim of the same is singer Yung Gravy. Only instead of being pranked, he’s being sued by Rick Astley himself, over the unlicensed use of his song, “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Read on for the juicy details!
First Up, What Does Getting Rickrolled Mean?
In 1987, an unexpectedly baritone-voiced Rick Astley released the faintly threatening love bop, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Of course, we know this English singer for other hits like “When I Fall In Love” and “Together Forever”, but it’s the 1987 hit that led to an Internet prank and the eventual coinage of the term Rickrolled, or Rickrolling.
Rickrolling began as an Internet prank sometime in 2007, on online bulletin boards like Reddit where users would post a link that said one thing, but always took the unsuspecting reader to a video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Hence, Rickrolling or Rickrolled!
Apparently, it was supposed to be the next step in an earlier prank called duck rolling where people would be taken to an image of a duck on wheels playing “The Picard Song” by DarkMateria. Either way, Rickrolling is here to stay!
Meanwhile, here’s Rick Astley promising that he’s “Never Gonna Give You Up!”
Why Did Yung Gravy Get Rickrolled, By Rick Astley?
26-year-old Yung Gravy whose real name is Matthew Raymond Hauri is being sued by Rick Astley for using ripped-off vocals from Astley’s hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up” in his 2022 track, “Betty (Get Money)”. Yung Gravy did not use Rick Astley’s voice but got vocal impersonator, Nick Seeley to make an imitation of the same, something that has Astley up in arms, and he will surely not give up on his court battle.
According to TMZ, Astley is alleging that Gravy and his producers “conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of … Astley’s voice throughout the song” and is suing Nick Seeley as well. Along with Seeley, Dwilly and EDM celebrity, Dillon Francis are the co-producers of the song “Betty (Get Money)” but it’s unclear if they are being sued too.
Apparently, Gravy does hold the license to the instrumental part of Astley’s song, but the English singer-songwriter alleges that he did not give the upcoming rapper or anyone permission to use or impersonate his voice. And frankly, “Betty (Get Money)” starts off tappy with Rick Astley’s impersonated riff itself!
Clearly, it’s not all that gravy for Gravy!
Here’s the song Gravy is getting Rickrolled over:
Rick Astley Feels Rickrolled by Yung Gravy!
Yung Gravy is known for being a MILF hunter of sorts, and his very public courtship of TikToker Addison Rae‘s mom got him in the news and in some trouble as well. The fans feel “Betty (Get Money)” Rickrolled them, leaving comments like:
“I love how he Rickrolled us without even Rickrolling us and I’m f–king here for it!”
“I got Rickrolled by this song then again by the original on the next radio station.”
“I don’t care how many times I get rickrolled with this, this song will always be a banger.”
But Rick Astley feels he’s the actual Rickrolling victim! Apparently, Astley’s suit argues that Gravy admitted to the impersonation in an August 2022 interview with Billboard, where Gravy said, “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 recreates original samples, basically remade the whole song. Had a different singer and instruments, but it was all really close because it makes it easier legally.”
Guess it’s not all that easy legally, given that Gravy is now in legal doo-doo.
Astley is suing Gravy for millions as he claims this negative experience has ruined any future collaborations for him!
Meanwhile, Gravy is celebrating the drop of his album, and neither he nor Astley had anything more to say. Guess we’ll just have to wait and watch on who will give up first!
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