Ariana Grande has been hit by a copyright suit by a hip-hop artist who claims the pop star ripped off his song to make her hit track '7 Rings'.
Warning: The music video linked belows contains content of an adult nature.
According to Variety, the lawsuit was filed in a US district court this week by Josh Stone, who performs under the name DOT. He alleges Grande plagiarised his song 'You Need It, I Got It', recorded in 2017.
According to court documents, Stone hired "highly regarded musicology experts" to compare the two tracks, particularly the chorus. Grande's song features the lyrical hook "I want it, I got it", while Stone's has the line "You need it, I got it, you want it, I got it".
Stone's lawyers claim "literally every single one of the 39 respective notes of '7 Rings' is identical with the 39 notes of 'I Got It', from a metrical placement perspective".
"Said another way," the suit continues, "the rhythm and placement of the notes and lyrics are identical".
Stone claims he took his song to various music executives before releasing it, including producer Tommy Brown, who collaborated with Grande on 'Thank U, Next' and the song in question, '7 Rings'.
The suit begins by pointing out the commercial success of Grande's track, claiming it to have made over US$10 million in profits, and highlighting the track's two Grammy nominations.
"By every method of analysis, '7 Rings' is a forgery," the suit states.
Variety reports Grande's label, Universal Music, has not immediately responded for comment.
