The Chainsmokers have proven in their interviews to be brazenly terrible human beings, so it’s not exactly outside of their character to snatch a melody from a song that’s barely fallen off the charts. And if the victim in the case is a musician that the entire music world can’t help but love, that’s nothing but bonus points.
A new video from Genius points out that the DJ duo may have stolen their melody for their massive hit “Closer” from the one-time equally inescapable song “679” by Fetty Wap. More specifically, it seems that they took the sing-song flow of the verse delivered by Fetty’s day one Monty.
There are a few points working against the idea that Chainsmokers outright lifted from “679.” Genius points out that the songs are in different keys, and several Facebook commenters believe the two snippets are just the inevitable result of the limited space to work with in Western music. And there’s the fact that The Chainsmokers themselves say the song was inspired by Blink 182’s “I Miss You.”
However, we live in a post-“Blurred Lines” verdict world. If Robin Thicke and Pharrell can go down for vibes and a similar drum pattern, it’s hard to imagine that Fetty Wap would lose if he decided to bring a case over this. Give the side-by-side of the two tracks up top a listen and decide for yourself.
