Bruno Mars has been accused of stealing “Uptown Funk” from music group The Sequence. The group alleges that its 1979 song “Funk You Up” was unlawfully used by Mars and Mark Ronson.
The Sequence, one of the first female rap groups, claims the hook to both songs are the same, and there are other similarities as well. The group members include Cheryl Cook, Gwendolyn Chisolm, and Angie Brown Stone.
This is not the first time “Uptown Funk” has come under scrutiny. In May 2015, Mars and Ronson agreed to pay the writers of “Oops Upside Your Head”, performed by the Gap Band, 17 percent of all the royalties from the song because of the striking similarities between the two tunes.
The Sequence has yet to bring forward an official copyright infringement lawsuit.
Mars and Ronson’s hit song recently won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and has over one billion views on YouTube.
Listen to the songs below:
