Drake acknowledges similarity between 'Hotline Bling,' 'Cha Cha' songs

TORONTO, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Drake has now formally acknowledged the similarities between his new song "Hotline Bling" and D.R.A.M's "Cha Cha" after being confronted on Twitter about the similar sounding tunes.

On Monday, Drake unveiled a colorful music video for the hit single which sampled another recent hit "Cha Cha" by D.R.A.M., which the 28-year-old embraced by showcasing his own cha-cha moves during the son's hook and throughout the verses.

D.R.A.M., real name Shelley Massenburg-Smith, then performed in Drake's hometown of Toronto, calling the experience "bittersweet" on Twitter. Sweet, he wrote, because he was sharing his music; bitter because "after my performance, all I'm seeing is Cha Cha/Hotline Bling comparisons on my timeline."

"Yeah, I feel I got jacked for my record," he continued on Twitter. "But I'm GOOD."

Drake, however, had already acknowledged the similarity in a previous interview with Fader that was published on Tuesday. In it, Drake describes the song as a modern-rap equivalent to a dancehall artist recording their own spin on a hot riddim, or "rhythm."

"You know, like in Jamaica, you'll have a riddim and it's like, everyone has to do a song on that," Drake said. "Imagine that in rap, or imagine that in R&B. Imagine if we got one beat and every single person—me, this guy, this guy, all these guys—had to do a song on that one beat. So sometimes I'll pick a beat that's a bit, like, sunnier, I guess is the word you used, than usual, and I just try my hand at it. And that's kind of what "Hotline Bling" was. And I loved it. It's cool. I've been excited by that sort of creative process."

Singer-songwriter Erkah Badu, who recently released her own remix to "Hotline Bling" replied to D.R.A.M. on Twitter looking on the bright side of the situation. "We loved 'Cha Cha' first," she said. "Very unique and raw. That's that underground magic force that sparks a seed to grow a tree."