Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” sent shockwaves through the music industry when it was released back in May. The track, which was premiered on Saturday Night Live, vociferously swept through the nation and topped the Billboard Hot 100 by dethroning Drake’s “Nice For What” the week following its release. The track currently sits at No. 12. However, fans on social media have pointed out that it shares many similarities with with Jase Harley’s 2016 track “American Pharaoh”and are wondering whether Donald Glover was inspired by Harley’s song when crafting his socially conscious hit.

Source: https://genius.com/a/chil...an-pharaoh







Is a lawsuit imminent?

Okay, I listened to both of them and said "Yeah there are similarities". But it could be that I'm wrong, so I tested it with the people around me and they all say that Childish Gambino's Song sounds like American Pharaoh.

So I think if Jase Harley would sue him, it would be okay I guess.

So now for the rest of the story.

Glover's lawyer tweeted, then deleted, that the internet is a place of no coincidence. And that "This Is America" has been in the works for three years, and they "have the ProTools files to prove it".

Harley has since said on his Instagram that he doesn't care, and he implored people to not get sidetracked by the controversy, as it was a distraction to the larger message of injustice to black people in the United States that he and Gambino were trying to highlight.

"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 wrote. "We are speaking about injustices we've encountered and he's helped to provide a platform for all our voices to be heard. Let's not discredit him for that! The focus should be on affecting change in our communities and building equality. This is bigger than me and him and bigger than music. Let's not lose focus!"

TrivialPursuit said:

So now for the rest of the story.

Glover's lawyer tweeted, then deleted, that the internet is a place of no coincidence. And that "This Is America" has been in the works for three years, and they "have the ProTools files to prove it".

Harley has since said on his Instagram that he doesn't care, and he implored people to not get sidetracked by the controversy, as it was a distraction to the larger message of injustice to black people in the United States that he and Gambino were trying to highlight.

"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 wrote. "We are speaking about injustices we've encountered and he's helped to provide a platform for all our voices to be heard. Let's not discredit him for that! The focus should be on affecting change in our communities and building equality. This is bigger than me and him and bigger than music. Let's not lose focus!"

Wow, this is a reaction that gets a standing ovation from me!
The media again trying to create some headline grabbing, sensational and empty headed beef to entertain and divert the masses and this guy is having none of it and tries to steer it back/keep the focus on the topic at hand

ThatWhiteDude said:

Okay, I listened to both of them and said "Yeah there are similarities". But it could be that I'm wrong, so I tested it with the people around me and they all say that Childish Gambino's Song sounds like American Pharaoh.

So I think if Jase Harley would sue him, it would be okay I guess.

Yeah, there are definitely some similarities in there. Interesting to see what the Pro Tools files Gambino's manager refers to are (e.g. early beats? complete track with vocals? etc). I generally dislike the hyper-litigious culture that seems to be developing around music copyright, as I think everything is influenced by something else, but it's still interesting to piece together the genealogy of a song.

TrivialPursuit said:

So now for the rest of the story.

Glover's lawyer tweeted, then deleted, that the internet is a place of no coincidence. And that "This Is America" has been in the works for three years, and they "have the ProTools files to prove it".

Harley has since said on his Instagram that he doesn't care, and he implored people to not get sidetracked by the controversy, as it was a distraction to the larger message of injustice to black people in the United States that he and Gambino were trying to highlight.

"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 wrote. "We are speaking about injustices we've encountered and he's helped to provide a platform for all our voices to be heard. Let's not discredit him for that! The focus should be on affecting change in our communities and building equality. This is bigger than me and him and bigger than music. Let's not lose focus!"

You'll have noticed, I don't doubt, that all of that information is included in the link I provided in the OP. As mentioned in reply to TWD, it'll be interesting to see what the Pro Tools files are, and thus what they 'prove', as it were. I've no dog in the race, either way, though, as my take has always been that every creative process essentially involves recombination of existing elements, and also that it's entirely possible for people to come up with similar compositions independently. There's a prima facie similarity there, though, so it's interesting to probe that and read people's takes, I think.

The point about this 'diluting' the message of the song is a bit of a stretch, I'd say. Most of us can walk and chew gum at the same time. In a genre that thrives on creatively reusing existing materials, I don't think many people would think that being influenced by another track would 'discredit' a composer - though I can see why Harley has thought it wise to make his position clear.

I'd say it probably didn't, he's normally a lot more obvious in his "homages"

fam rothstein came off as some kind of dick, though, didn't he?

deebee said:

TrivialPursuit said:

So now for the rest of the story.

Glover's lawyer tweeted, then deleted, that the internet is a place of no coincidence. And that "This Is America" has been in the works for three years, and they "have the ProTools files to prove it".

Harley has since said on his Instagram that he doesn't care, and he implored people to not get sidetracked by the controversy, as it was a distraction to the larger message of injustice to black people in the United States that he and Gambino were trying to highlight.

"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 wrote. "We are speaking about injustices we've encountered and he's helped to provide a platform for all our voices to be heard. Let's not discredit him for that! The focus should be on affecting change in our communities and building equality. This is bigger than me and him and bigger than music. Let's not lose focus!"

You'll have noticed, I don't doubt, that all of that information is included in the link I provided in the OP. As mentioned in reply to TWD, it'll be interesting to see what the Pro Tools files are, and thus what they 'prove', as it were. I've no dog in the race, either way, though, as my take has always been that every creative process essentially involves recombination of existing elements, and also that it's entirely possible for people to come up with similar compositions independently. There's a prima facie similarity there, though, so it's interesting to probe that and read people's takes, I think.

The point about this 'diluting' the message of the song is a bit of a stretch, I'd say. Most of us can walk and chew gum at the same time. In a genre that thrives on creatively reusing existing materials, I don't think many people would think that being influenced by another track would 'discredit' a composer - though I can see why Harley has thought it wise to make his position clear.

Well said as always.

The story did mention that the lawyer, Rothstein, deleted the tweet.

[Edited 7/10/18 13:48pm]