The similarities between D.R.A.M.‘s summer smash “Cha Cha” and “Hotline Bling,” Drake‘s biggest hit since 2009’s “Best I Ever Had” are hard to ignore. In fact, when it first dropped, Beats 1 (where the song was premiered, on Drake’s OVOSOUND radio show) billed the tune as a “‘Cha Cha’ remix,” and Drake has called it a “quasi cover.”
Drake Shows He Knows How to Cha-Cha in ‘Hotline Bling’ Video: Watch
Both parties have remained pretty quiet on the subject since then, until yesterday (which also marked the day Drake released the “Hotline Bling” video, featuring himself doing a modified cha cha), when D.R.A.M. called the rapper out on Twitter following his first show in Toronto. “Yeah, I feel I got jacked for my record…But I’m GOOD,” he wrote. Erykah Badu, who recently covered “Hotline Bling,” replied, “We loved ‘Cha Cha’ first. Very unique and raw. That’s that underground magic force that sparks a seed to grow a tree.”
See the full thread of tweets below:
Just performed in Toronto for the 1st time tonight and it was bittersweet.
— D.R.A.M. not DRAM (@ONLY1DRAM) October 20, 2015
Sweet cus I’m out here sharing my music, my sound with the people..
— D.R.A.M. not DRAM (@ONLY1DRAM) October 20, 2015
Bitter though, cus after my performance all I’m seeing is Cha Cha/Hotline Bling comparisons on my timeline.
— D.R.A.M. not DRAM (@ONLY1DRAM) October 20, 2015
Niggas want to know how I feel about that…
— D.R.A.M. not DRAM (@ONLY1DRAM) October 20, 2015
Yeah, I feel I got jacked for my record…But I’m GOOD.
— D.R.A.M. not DRAM (@ONLY1DRAM) October 20, 2015
I’m happy that the VA sound that me & @GabeNiles are steady working on is growing. And in 2016 we gon’ own it, GAHDAMN!.
— D.R.A.M. not DRAM (@ONLY1DRAM) October 20, 2015
@ONLY1DRAM we loved Cha Cha first. Very unique and raw. That’s That underground magic force that sparks a seed to grow a tree. . . Ms. badu
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) October 20, 2015