The problem that I have with Robbie Williams nicking hip hop lyrics for his new single, “Rock, DJ”, doesn’t come from the re-using of the rhymes. If taking a Slick Rick lyric (Williams uses “When I’m on the mike I rock the mike right” from “Ladi Dadi”) was banned then half of Snoop’s and Biggie’s back catalogues would have to be destroyed. The problem comes from the fact that he won’t acknowledge it. Some of his listeners may remember “Can I kick it? Yes you can!” from the Nike advert but no doubt he’ll pass the rest off as his own. Why can’t the kids be enlightened, Rob?
Sure there’s a bit of a double standard there – I’m sure Snoop and Biggie sometimes didn’t acknowledge it – but wouldn’t the hip hop listener already be more knowledgeable when it comes to hip hop lyrics? References like this are common in hip hop but not in rock/pop like Robbie Williams’ stuff. Rob, if you’re reading, do the right thing and tell the kids to find themselves the originals.