Multi-platinum recording artist Cardi B has been accused of stealing the hook to her new song “Up” from New Jersey rappers Mir Fontane and Mir Pesos. Their September track “Stuck” has the same repeated line as the Cardi B song released Feb. 5.
Cardi has denied the allegations, claiming that her song was written before “Stuck” was released, while Fontane has spoken with multiple publications about his thoughts on the matter.
Fontane himself tweeted out a comparative video showing the similarities between the two choruses, which has over 1 million views and 25,000 likes.
Cardi B responded with an old video of her and Megan Thee Stallion where Cardi was singing the hook to “Up” with the caption “AUGUST 7th now go check buddy’s date.” Fontane took her response as an opportunity to show an even bigger audience his side. He responded with potential evidence that his song came first by linking a YouTube video previewing “Stuck” from Aug. 6.
Adjunct Rowan professor Jonathan Wigfall manages Fontane, along with several other South Jersey-based artists. Using his professional perspective, Wigfall teaches hip-hop culture and PR in Rowan’s Music Industry Program. Back in February of 2020, Fontane even performed at the Chamberlain Student Center.
Wigfall released the following statement to The Whit regarding the situation:
“It’s been a surreal experience for us from the moment Cardi B’s single went live. Naturally, I have ongoing conversations with my PR class about crisis communications and the power of social media, but it’s been some time since I had to help a client navigate through such a delicate matter at this scale.”
Fontane has been fairly vocal about the situation both on social media and in interviews. The Camden native went on Mina’s House Podcast to explain the whole story. After the host listed off the credited producers and writers for “Up,” she asked Fontane if it’s possible one of the people working on Cardi B’s song had previously heard him performing “Stuck.”
“It’s a fact, not a possibility,” he said. “I’ve definitely been around people that work with Cardi B.”
Cardi continued to deny the allegations, saying that the phrase “if it’s up then it’s stuck” has been used in several rap songs before. She even tweeted out a video with various clips of the phrase being used in hip-hop songs. However, the problem for Fontane was not that she used the lyrics, but that she used the flow.
In an interview with Hot New Hip-Hop (HNHH) he said, “it’s the cadence, it’s the way the beat flows, it’s the way she delivered it that’s like, ‘that sound is ours.’” Fontane called this a “massive blow to his budding career,” explaining that in the future, people may hear his song and think that he ripped off the Cardi track. Additionally, he said in his Mina interview that this is especially disappointing because there have been several other “coincidences” of other rappers’ music sounding a lot like his.
Although Fontane has certainly been defending his art, he has made it clear in interviews that he doesn’t blame Cardi B or hold anything against her. He said to HNHH that he has more important things to do than drag this on and he “doesn’t need the clout.” Fontane has a new album set to release next month.
Wigfall praised Fontane’s maturity with his response to the circumstance. He said his client has “done a great job of capitalizing on the publicity while taking the necessary steps to get this resolved behind the scenes.”
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