Beyoncé and Jay-Z received a dab from a Hungarian Singer who claims that a portion of her Roma folk song was used in the recording of a mega hit "Drunk in Love." According to TMZ, the Hungarian woman, whose name is Monika Miczura, aka Mitsou, says the power couple and mega producer Timbaland filched a portion of her 1995 single and "used it in the first 13 seconds of the song."
The Hungarian singer reiterates that she did not give neither Bey and Jay-Z nor the producer due consent to use her song. Mitsou also complains that there were changes in the underlying themes of the lyrics. She says that the song was intended to represent hopelessness not "to evoke foreign eroticism alongside the sexually intense lyrics", TMZ reports.
According to an article by PageSix, Miczura took legal action by filing civil suit against Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Timbaland. The suit says that the folk singer's voice was experimented and "digitally manipulated without permission."
Mitsou would not have known the alleged theft if not because of her friends who first took notice that the first 13 seconds of "Drunk in Love" resembles that of "Bajba, Bajba, Palem", the title of the controversial song.
More than just the lyrics, the civil suit confirms that Mitsou's voice was even used as a vocal introduction; something that the folk singer believes is extremely exploitative. In fact, PageSix reports that in total, Mitsou's vocals can be heard for "over one and a half minutes of the five and one half minute song."
As of now, the couple and Timbaland remain mum about the controversy.
It can be noted that "Drunk in Love" received a Grammy nomination and was really performing well on the Billboard charts. It can be deduced how much Beyoncé and Jay-Z are feeling the situation right now perhaps because it could have gone unnoticed considering their stature as enormous musical icons.
Meanwhile, Mitsou seeks damages for the unlawful use of her 1995 record. Likewise, she asks the jury to make it illegal to play the song unless her voice and all pertinent contents that can be associated to "Bajba, Bajba, Palem" are removed.
This is one epic battle between a ripped off Hungarian folk singer and the giants of the business. Do you think the song is really a rip-off?