Camila Cabello has not had a great December.
On Dec. 18, the singer apologized for her old, racist Tumblr account that resurfaced. She was later met with further allegations of racism. Now people are accusing Cabello of plagiarizing a song by a Peruvian reggae group.
In a clip that’s been circulating online, Cabello’s song “My Oh My” from her sophomore album Romance is played against Tierra Sur’s “They knock on the door.”
As En24 News points out, the songs’ call and responses are what make them sound especially similar.
In Tierra Sur’s 1992 song, the call and response is: “They knock on the door (who will it be) / are a couple of mongos (don’t open them no) / speak like gringos (let them go) / They don’t rest even on Sunday (don’t open them no) ”
In Cabello’s song, which features DaBaby, the call and response is: “They say he likes a good time (My oh my) / He comes alive at midnight (Every night) / My mama doesn’t trust him (My oh my) / He’s only here for one thing, but (so am I)“
Music fans first pointed out the similarities on Twitter.
“Why am i not surprised..?” Twitter user @youdaoneari wrote, along with the clip of the songs.
https://twitter.com/youdaoneari/status/1210542232471769088
https://twitter.com/kiwismiIe/status/1210726750977589248
In response to a fan asking if they were aware of the allegations, Tierra Sur said they were. In response to another fan asking if they granted Cabello and her team permission to sample the song, Tierra Sur said they had not and that the group had been aware of the song for “several weeks.”
Tierra Sur’s Twitter account posted the Spotify link to “They knock on the door” on Dec. 27, shortly after the plagiarism allegations began circulating.
Update 9:35pm CT, Dec. 29: In an email statement to the Daily Dot, Tierra Sur’s Pochi Marambio wouldn’t say whether he believes the song was plagiarized.
“I think its too soon to speculate about this, im aware that the international music industry, especially hip hop and rap, recognize what samples they use and talk with the authors and/or the legal representatives about permission to use the song,” Marambio said.
@Camila_Cabello it’s a thief
— luis (@luis16carriages) December 27, 2019
Hola si estamos al tanto gracias x avisar 🌻
— Pochi Marambio y Tierra Sur (@Pochi_TierraSur) December 27, 2019
No nada pero ya estamos al tanto hace varias semanas 🌻
— Pochi Marambio y Tierra Sur (@Pochi_TierraSur) December 27, 2019
Girl kssjjs 💀💀 pic.twitter.com/hO7yntRii0
— lexie liu stan account ✰ (@RnldSrrn) December 27, 2019
“My Oh My” does not list Marambio, who wrote “They knock on the door” in 1991, as a credited author.
“Camilas team are really working hard to brush this under the carpet but the point still stands. A sample is when an artist incorporates part of another persons song into their own and gives credit when doing so. Camila didn’t credit the writers of the OG song with My oh My,” Twitter user @ghostin333 wrote.
https://twitter.com/ghostin333/status/1210708500785094657
https://twitter.com/nasa_thank/status/1210802190148722688
“Llaman a la puerta, quién será”. Notifiquen a Pochi Marambio, de Tierra Sur, de esto, por favor. Maleado. https://t.co/rNYjwmxDI8
— Oscar García (@space_godzilla) December 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/ExpressoPopBR/status/1210597499133661184
This is not the first time Cabello has been accused of plagiarism. In 2017, she was accused of plagiarizing a Selena Gomez song. And in October, she was also accused of “ripping off” MARINA’s music.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tierra Sur.
READ MORE:
- Fan says Camila Cabello assumed she was from China and couldn’t speak English at meet-and-greet
- The best ways to stream Camila Cabello’s new album ‘Romance’
- Camila Cabello addresses her old racist Tumblr account that resurfaced
H/T En24 News
