Rick Astley: why is he suing Yung Gravy, Betty (Get Money) and Never Gonna Give You Up controversy explained

Yung Gravy’s song Betty (Get Money), which samples Rick Astley’s famous hit Never Gonna Give You Up, has gained popularity on social media site TikTok
Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy after he allegedly used impersonation of his voice on a song which sample Never Gonna Give You Up. (Credit: Getty Images)Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy after he allegedly used impersonation of his voice on a song which sample Never Gonna Give You Up. (Credit: Getty Images)
Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy after he allegedly used impersonation of his voice on a song which sample Never Gonna Give You Up. (Credit: Getty Images)

Singer Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy over on of his voice in his song ‘Betty (Get Money)’. The song uses an alledged impresonatiuses a previously agreed sample of Astley’s famous 1987 hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.

However, Astley has argued that the rapper has imitated his vocals on his song. The songer has argued that this was not a part of the original sample agreement.

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‘Betty (Get Money)’ has become a hit online. The song has been used in around 500,000 TikToks, with some clips going viral on the social media app.

However, Yung Gravy now faces a legal battle in court over the song. Here’s everything you need to know.

Why is Rick Astley suing Yung Gravy?

News broke of Astley suing Yung Gravy, whose real name is Matthew Raymond Hauri, after a lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles. The lawsuit claims that the rapper violated the agreement and “conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr Astley’s voice throughout the song”.

Astley’s lawyers added that they believe Yung Gravy and his producers made the decision to include the alleged impersonation “in an effort to capitalise off of the immense popularity and goodwill of Mr Astley”. The lawsuit also names the alleged vocalist, Nick Seeley, and Yung Gravy’s producers.

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The singer’s lawyers also allege that Astley had planned to use his vocals in another collaboration in the future with a different artist, with this project now at risk. According to Deadline, the outlet which broke the news, the lawsuit has been described as “multi-million dollar”.

What has Yung Gravy said about the song?

Speaking previously about the release of ‘Betty (Get Money)’, Hauri, 26, said that attempts had been made by his team to make sure that legal grounds were covered. He told Billboard magazine: “We basically remade the whole song. Had a different singer and instruments, but it was all really close because it makes it easier legally.”

‘Betty (Get Money)’ has become his biggest his in the US since being released in June 2022. It has reached gold in the US, which equates to around 500,000 units sold.

Have ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ been sampled before?

‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ has remained popular since its release in 1987, and even spawned a meme online known as ‘rickrolling’ in which users are often duped into watching the iconic music video. The immense popularity of the song has meant that it has been used many times before by other artists.

Artists such as Barry Manilow and rock band Smash Mouth have released covers of the song. Danish DJ Calvin also released an interpolation of the hit for his 2016 track ‘Give U Up’.

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