Jacky Greco and Snoop Dogg’s ‘Blow’ sounds an awful lot like Major Lazer and Justin Bieber’s ‘Cold Water’
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But, in electronic music, imitation has quickly become par for the course.
We’ve seen it happen with every successive sonic trend. First, cookie cutter big room and festival house invaded the airwaves. Following suit were a million Wave Racer imitators. Then there were the innumerable wonky bass-lines appropriating Oliver Heldens and Tchami’s future house and a couple years back, followed closely by the co-opting of Jauz’s bass house from every 20-something with a DAW and a dream, but an overall dearth of ingenuity. Let’s not forget David Guetta and Showtek’s absurdly blatant ripoff of Gesaffelstein in June of last year, either.
Electronic music’s latest chart-topping trend floats in the 90 BPM range with Carribbean and dancehall influences made popular by artists like Major Lazer, Diplo, Skrillex and even DJ Snake. Yesterday, January 12, we shared Jacky Greco and Snoop Dogg’s “Blow” and commented on its flavor of the month familiarity. However, upon closer inspection — and a couple repeat listens — there may be a bit more there than coincidental similarities at play.
While certainly not a copyright-infringing rip of “Cold Water,” Snoop and Greco’s hook on “Blow” shares a nearly identical melody and structure with Bieber and Major Lazer’s 2016 hit. The segments in question are less present in the mix on “Blow” than “Cold Water” — maybe even to hide their tracks a bit — but it definitely sounds as if it was a bit more than just influenced by the Bieber/Major Lazer collaboration. And even if the striking similarities were simply accidental, as the estimable Kanye West says — “Does anyone make real shit anymore?”
Listen to both tracks below and let us know what you think.
At least we can take respite in the fact that there’s at least one person still trying out new ideas these days…
Categories: Music