Ok, maybe 'rip off' is too strong an expression, but let's just say that it sounds like Sexy MF was heavily influenced by the groove of this 1964 collabo between George Benson and Jack McDuff.

Who can blame him??? It's a stormer of a record!

I listened to it for like 1,5 minute, but sorry, i don't hear it. Of course, their are some similarities, but a lot of songs have this kind of groove.....

^ People hear things differently, I guess... To me, there's a resemblance that goes beyond the generic, even if it's not a direct lift. Something about the groove is very similar, especially with that snare on the 1 (even if the NPG fashion it into a more in-your-face funk sound). That motif that first appears at 0:56 on the GB track gets a subtle nod from the horns on the Prince record, too, I think.

P's said in the past he was a fan, so it wouldn't surprise me if he'd spun this record back in the day and been influenced by it. And, c'mon, Levi's solo surely shows they had some love for George!

I totally hear it.

not really a rip off to me, but influenced.

SCNDLS said:

I totally hear it.

Yay! I'm not mad!

paisleypark4 said:

not really a rip off to me, but influenced.

Slightly similiar.................just saying it was a rip........is a trip in the wrong direction.

deebee said:

SCNDLS said:

I totally hear it.

Yay! I'm not mad!

Too many similar elements for it to be a coinky-dink. Beyond influence I think, damn near an homage with a funkier twist.

George Benson is one of the cats whose music is more advanced than what Prince is able to do. But Prince sure can mimic the freak out of music in that class! There are multiple similarities in the song. I believe Prince gets most of his song ideas from someone else's songs anyway, so who knows?

funksterr said:

George Benson is one of the cats whose music is more advanced than what Prince is able to do. But Prince sure can mimic the freak out of music in that class! There are multiple similarities in the song. I believe Prince gets most of his song ideas from someone else's songs anyway, so who knows?

Yeah, just like prince being no more than a 5/10 on any instrument or most of his work being ungodly swearing. This song is not a rip off, not even close.

People are getting too hung up on this "rip off" line (which, in my defence, I did qualify in the OP). I just meant it as a cute way of saying you can hear the influence of the George Benson track on Sexy MF, rather than as a dig at Prince's creativity.

I actually kinda like that perhaps he's giving a nod to one of his influences, but also throwing in some stuff he learnt from James Brown, lacing it with some rap, and putting his own funky spin on it. It's sexy, motherfuckers.

hhhhdmt said:

funksterr said:

George Benson is one of the cats whose music is more advanced than what Prince is able to do. But Prince sure can mimic the freak out of music in that class! There are multiple similarities in the song. I believe Prince gets most of his song ideas from someone else's songs anyway, so who knows?

Yeah, just like prince being no more than a 5/10 on any instrument or most of his work being ungodly swearing. This song is not a rip off, not even close.

Why does that fact bother you so much? He still makes music that is loved by millions. It doesn't mean he is isn't an incredible pop artist. But with that said he really isn't as capable as the average Prince FAM thinks he is.

funksterr said:

hhhhdmt said:

Yeah, just like prince being no more than a 5/10 on any instrument or most of his work being ungodly swearing. This song is not a rip off, not even close.

Why does that fact bother you so much? He still makes music that is loved by millions. It doesn't mean he is isn't an incredible pop artist. But with that said he really isn't as capable as the average Prince FAM thinks he is.

saying that prince is no more than a 5/10 on guitar isnt a fact, its absurd. And i am not a fam. You on the other hand are a troll who repeatedly tries to discredit him in every way possible. I am just calling you out on your absurd statements, thats all.

Great similarity between the two songs. No denying it.

Maybe even too much similarity to safely say Sexy MF wasn't simply coincidental.

Wikipedia makes some comments on how the song came about but not enough to draw any solid conclusions. It could be that Levi had a bit more to do with it than it says here because he later sued P for writing credits (see second wiki quote).

It would be interesting to hear what George Benson thinks of the tune. Jack McDuff died in 2001 but that would have left plenty of time for him to hear it.

"Sexy MF" ("Sexy Motherfucker") is a single released on June 30, 1992, by Prince and The New Power Generation, from the Love Symbol album.^[1] The B-side was "Strollin'", from the previous year's Diamonds and Pearls. The UK CD single had a third track, "Daddy Pop", also from Diamonds and Pearls. The song (named after the chorus line "You sexy motherfucker") caused a lot of controversy^[2], and a censored version was created for radio and the music video, as well as the "clean version" of the U.S. album.

"Sexy MF" is a merger of "old school" funk with modern R&B music. The song is built around the drums and bass, though the bass-line is somewhat subdued. Added to this is a consistent electric rhythm guitar undertone and horn stabs from the NPG Hornz. Throughout the song, the horns are given the chance to shine, along with a sax solo from Eric Leeds. Musical solos are also provided by Levi Seacer, Jr. (guitar) and Tommy Barbarella (organ). The music and most of the lyrics were composed by Prince, while Seacer came up with the chorus and the song's title.Tony M. delivers a rap which he wrote.

The song was recorded in Paisley Park Studios' Studio A. The title line was recited into a Shure SM57 by Levi Seacer, Jr.

Levi Seacer, Jr. is an American musician. He was an early associate of Sheila E.when he was tapped by Prince to form a new touring band after the demise of The Revolution in 1986. Seacer became the band's bassist, as well as a backing vocalist. Later, he began collaborating with Prince as a songwriter on several projects. Seacer was a founding member of Prince's The New Power Generation in 1991, switching from bass to the band's guitarist. He remained a member of the band until 1993, and also participated in the later version of Madhouse. After leaving the Prince camp in 1993, Seacer has worked as a producer and session musician on various projects, most notably the gospel music ensemble Sounds of Blackness.

In October 1998, Seacer (along with Tony M.) filed a lawsuit against Prince, claiming that Prince hadn't shared royalties that Levi and Tony were owed for songs they had co-written for Prince's NPG Publishing, including "Sexy MF" and "My Name Is Prince". In the end Mosely and Seacer settled for approximately $40,000 each (apparently, not even enough to pay their legal expenses), having sued Prince for $800,000. (source:http://groups.google.com/group/alt.music.prince/msg/41f781b47323b648)

[Edited 7/10/11 22:37pm]

dang!! very similiar

and I thought it was a P. Funk ripoff

funksterr said:

George Benson is one of the cats whose music is more advanced than what Prince is able to do. But Prince sure can mimic the freak out of music in that class! There are multiple similarities in the song. I believe Prince gets most of his song ideas from someone else's songs anyway, so who knows?

You know some people are going to want to beat your ass when they read that, right?

hhhhdmt said:

funksterr said:

Why does that fact bother you so much? He still makes music that is loved by millions. It doesn't mean he is isn't an incredible pop artist. But with that said he really isn't as capable as the average Prince FAM thinks he is.

saying that prince is no more than a 5/10 on guitar isnt a fact, its absurd. And i am not a fam. You on the other hand are a troll who repeatedly tries to discredit him in every way possible. I am just calling you out on your absurd statements, thats all.

Tell me specifically why it's absurd, not that this thread is even about that topic, but since we are talking George Benson, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarist of all time, tell me how Prince is in that class of musicianship. Prince is a lot of very good things as an entertainer and performer, but his musicianship is not as great as advertised. He is great if you compare him to Teddy Riley, or Chris Isaak or pop artists, but he isn't among the best of the best. I get a kick out of how that comes as a surpise to the average Prince fan.

I think there are only so many notes and time signatures to go around, and that sooner or later EVERYTHING sounds like parts of something else. It may very well be that Prince heard this and got ideas for Sexy MF, but I don't see any crime in that. Whether he heard this song or not, he certainly recorded Sexy MF to be a song that stands on it's own.

So until new notes are invented, along with brand new time signatures, I'm sure this wont be the last song that sounds like it could have come from others.

Cool Benson song, btw.

funksterr said:

hhhhdmt said:

saying that prince is no more than a 5/10 on guitar isnt a fact, its absurd. And i am not a fam. You on the other hand are a troll who repeatedly tries to discredit him in every way possible. I am just calling you out on your absurd statements, thats all.

Tell me specifically why it's absurd, not that this thread is even about that topic, but since we are talking George Benson, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarist of all time, tell me how Prince is in that class of musicianship. Prince is a lot of very good things as an entertainer and performer, but his musicianship is not as great as advertised. He is great if you compare him to Teddy Riley, or Chris Isaak or pop artists, but he isn't among the best of the best. I get a kick out of how that comes as a surpise to the average Prince fan.

i dont need to explain why its absurd. Its very obvious. Nobody "advertises" Prince's musicianship, he is not signed to a major label, his musicianship is excellent and he is definately among the best one man bands in the world. You made the claim of prince being no more than a 5/10 on guitar, so you need to prove it. You're just here to troll, thats about it.

Parts of it sound kind of similar to parts of "The Rainbow Children."

hhhhdmt said:

funksterr said:

Tell me specifically why it's absurd, not that this thread is even about that topic, but since we are talking George Benson, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarist of all time, tell me how Prince is in that class of musicianship. Prince is a lot of very good things as an entertainer and performer, but his musicianship is not as great as advertised. He is great if you compare him to Teddy Riley, or Chris Isaak or pop artists, but he isn't among the best of the best. I get a kick out of how that comes as a surpise to the average Prince fan.

i dont need to explain why its absurd. Its very obvious. Nobody "advertises" Prince's musicianship, he is not signed to a major label, his musicianship is excellent and he is definately among the best one man bands in the world. You made the claim of prince being no more than a 5/10 on guitar, so you need to prove it. You're just here to troll, thats about it.

OK, well stop following me around the Org griping, if you feel no need to explain why you disagree with me. That's irrational behavior. I made that 5/10 statement months ago and you have never explained why you thought it was unfair.

hhhhdmt said:

funksterr said:

Tell me specifically why it's absurd, not that this thread is even about that topic, but since we are talking George Benson, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarist of all time, tell me how Prince is in that class of musicianship. Prince is a lot of very good things as an entertainer and performer, but his musicianship is not as great as advertised. He is great if you compare him to Teddy Riley, or Chris Isaak or pop artists, but he isn't among the best of the best. I get a kick out of how that comes as a surpise to the average Prince fan.

i dont need to explain why its absurd. Its very obvious. Nobody "advertises" Prince's musicianship, he is not signed to a major label, his musicianship is excellent and he is definately among the best one man bands in the world. You made the claim of prince being no more than a 5/10 on guitar, so you need to prove it. You're just here to troll, thats about it.

And I'm still stuck on how it's a "fact" based on what? His opinion?

bboy87 said:

funksterr said:

George Benson is one of the cats whose music is more advanced than what Prince is able to do. But Prince sure can mimic the freak out of music in that class! There are multiple similarities in the song. I believe Prince gets most of his song ideas from someone else's songs anyway, so who knows?

You know some people are going to want to beat your ass when they read that, right?

Yeah, I know. But the music speaks for itself.

I also hear Chicago in Come.

It's similar, but we all knew Prince was paying homage to the music of that time, and has been for a long time. But I doubt he was specifically referencing this song.

FWIW GB was playing a little reference game, himself

That is great, but if Prince had ripped that off, he did a poor job, you can not rip off the guitar sound of George Benson, the man is an original. Also its a connection point with my partner, who barely tolerates Prince, but he loves the music of George Benson, hes been to his concerts, when he came to New Zealand several times. Even more bizarre (Or maybe just displaying the appeal George Benson has), hes a 70 year old White Man.