Distruction Boyz have maintained their innocence in the face of a forensic copyright investigation which apparently concluded the track was stolen‚ claiming that the song was theirs and they would fight the allegations.
A City Press report claimed the group's summer smash hit Omunye was the same as DJ LAG's Trip to New York released three months before Omunye.
Distruction Boyz claimed that they purchased the song from DJ Mphyd and denied that he had copied the beat from DJ LAG.
"The guy who sold us the beat told us that he produced it and he did not even know DJ LAG. LAG posted a 30 second teaser of the song on Instagram but this guy doesn't even have Instagram. How can we copy the song from an Instagram video‚" the group's Zipho “Goldmax” Mthembu told TshisaLIVE.
He said the group was saddened by the claims and said it was an attempt to steal some of their shine.
"We are so sad. This is our song. This is our biggest song. We created the song from scratch. People have been dancing to this song for months. How come it is being questioned now?
Distruction Boyz on Omunye 'theft': We're not going to stop playing it‚ it's our song
Distruction Boyz have maintained their innocence in the face of a forensic copyright investigation which apparently concluded the track was stolen‚ claiming that the song was theirs and they would fight the allegations.
A City Press report claimed the group's summer smash hit Omunye was the same as DJ LAG's Trip to New York released three months before Omunye.
Distruction Boyz claimed that they purchased the song from DJ Mphyd and denied that he had copied the beat from DJ LAG.
"The guy who sold us the beat told us that he produced it and he did not even know DJ LAG. LAG posted a 30 second teaser of the song on Instagram but this guy doesn't even have Instagram. How can we copy the song from an Instagram video‚" the group's Zipho “Goldmax” Mthembu told TshisaLIVE.
He said the group was saddened by the claims and said it was an attempt to steal some of their shine.
"We are so sad. This is our song. This is our biggest song. We created the song from scratch. People have been dancing to this song for months. How come it is being questioned now?
He said the group would continue to perform the song and had not received any legal notice to stop.
"We have not been made aware of any legal action and I am confident that if they do‚ they will not win this case. We won't stop performing the song. It is our song. People don't understand gqom. We are not going to fight DJ LAG. We know him‚ why would we copy his style? Maybe he has a new album coming and he is touring overseas‚ so maybe this is a strategy to market him here.
The group are set to perform in Barcelona later this year and said they wanted the matter resolved before then.
The group's business partner DJ Tira also spoke out on the report‚ saying such accusations were moving the industry backwards.
"This is the last thing we need. We are doing our best to promote this sound so it feeds black families. This is taking us back. Killing a black child's dream. You will never win. The truth will prevail‚" he wrote in a tweet.