Earlier this year, singer Rick Astley filed a lawsuit against Yung Gravy over the rapper’s 2022 single “Betty (Get Money),” which interpolates Astley’s 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Astley’s complaint alleged that Gravy impersonated his voice without legal authorization. Astley has now settled the lawsuit against the rapper, MyNewsLA.com and Deadline report.
When reached by Pitchfork, representatives for Yung Gravy offered no comment. Pitchfork has also emailed Astley’s representatives and attorney, Richard S. Busch, for comment.
In the lawsuit, filed in a Los Angeles court in January, Astley and his legal team claimed that, while Yung Gravy and his collaborators had the right to use the song’s “underlying musical composition,” they did not have the right to use Astley’s voice.
Gravy and producer Popnick worked in the studio to closely mimic Astley’s vocals on “Never Gonna Give You Up,” which Astley’s team referred to as “unauthorized, intentional, theft of his voice for commercial purposes.” Astley sued the rapper and his collaborators for violating his right of publicity, false endorsement, unfair competition, and more.
Richard S. Busch notably represented Marvin Gaye’s family during a pivotal copyright infringement case against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. over the song “Blurred Lines.” The jury awarded the Gaye family $7.4 million at the end of the dispute in 2015.
