Published
Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 20:53
- "The settlement reflects my contribution as a composer of the music of 'Culture.' I can't share details but I can confirm that I am very happy with the settlement," DJ Lag said.
South African artist DJ LAG has reached an undisclosed settlement agreement from will.i.am.
Less than two months ago, social media erupted with accusations that Megan Ryte and will.i.am's single, "Culture," plagiarized DJ Lag's 2016 track, "Ice Drop."
will.i.am issued a public apology directed at Megan Ryte shortly after, claiming that he "got the information wrong" while handling the song's credit submission. "The apology is not directed at me so I don't have a comment on that," Lag said later in a statement. "But I can confirm I was not approached by will.i.am or Megan for the use of my track before our Twitter brought it to trial."
DJ Lag spoke with South African newspaper Sowetan about the settlement: "My team at Black Major and their management team got in touch very quickly to discuss solutions," he said. "Communication was fast and I think this has something to do with all the pressure on social media. The settlement reflects my contribution as a composer of the music of 'Culture'. I can't share details but I can confirm that I am very happy with the settlement. It is all agreed and settled."
Sowetan also asked DJ Lag if will.i.am had personally apologized to him aside from will.i.am's initial ill-received apology video. "Let's just say we are OK and there is more work we can do together in the future," he replied.
DJ Lag expressed gratitude for the South African fans who rallied behind him when "Culture" was released, saying that he'd "never seen anything like it in [his] life." He continued, "You were all behind me full force."
Discussing the broader issue of South African artists confronting copyright battles he said, "Copyright is an artist's legacy and legal battles are very expensive. Not every artist has the financial backing to go to court. Hopefully, this case sends a strong message to the world that people stand for what is right and social media is powerful enough in situations where right and wrong is very clear."