Friday, April 26, 2013 3:24pm ET by  
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Will.i.Am on copyright breach: 'It's not stealing if you credit someone'

Black Eyed Peas hitmaker Will.i.Am has revealed that while he does sample trance producer Arty and London's Mat Zo's 2011 song 'Rebound' on his album, it isn't really a breach of copyright as he credited them.

Earlier this week, he revealed that he did use a clip from that cut on his own record without permission although he was careful to include their names in the credits so he shouldn't be persecuted for it.

Now, speaking to The Associated Press, the 'Boom Boom Pow' superstar explained that he credited Arty after including 'Let's Go' on the tracklisting, but the problem arose after he discovered the original version also featured Mat Zo: "You can't steal if you credited somebody. He and I communicated. ...It's not my fault he didn't tell me about the other guy. So who is to blame? I didn't know."

Will.i.Am added that by using their song it will help expose it to a wider audience so it's benefitting Arty and Zo in that way: "I respect that world and in a way helped cross it over for it to be played on radio. So it's just - it's just - it's kind of wack the way this situation has turned out because it's undermined in a way - not really, it hasn't - but it's undermined my contributions to that world and my respect to that world. Because the way they're painting it is not the way it is."

 

 

 

 

Listen to a comparison between the two songs here: