Singer Angie Stone and the 1970s rap group Sequence are involved in an ongoing legal dispute with singer/songwriter Bruno Mars and DJ Mark Ronson over their sampled songs “Funk You Up” and the Grammy Award-winning “Uptown Funk”.
Sequence was one of the first bold name female rap groups on the hip hop scene in the 1970s.
Their songs have been sampled dozens of times by multiple artists including Mars, Ronson, Dr. Dre, Erykah Badu, Trina, En Vogue, and Old dirty Bastard.
Ronson’s 2014 music video for “Uptown Funk”, featuring Mars, garnered over 1.3 billion views on Youtube.com.
“This is not and has not been an overnight issue, nor following the Grammy bandwagon party,” wrote publicist Kali Bowyer in an email to Sandrarose.com. “This fight did not just begin. The issues and paperwork date back going on close to two years.”
She added: “With respect to [the] Robinson family, it has been quite a lengthy process of formal and informal dealings with the Robinson family. It has been a rough ride for the ladies, in attempts to settle all issues surrounding the music.”
Read the full text of the email below:
Both Angie Stone, along with Blondy of the 70’s first female hip-hop group “The Sequence”, publicly spoke out yesterday, on the facts relating to the issues surrounding the song “Uptown Funk” performed by Bruno Mars. and in relation to the Robinson family and their 1979 song “Funk You Up”.
This is not and has not been an overnight issue, nor following the Grammy bandwagon party. This fight did not just begin, the issues and paperwork date back going on close to two years, over the songs ‘Uptown Funk” and “Funk You Up”, and with the issue in respects to Bruno dates back to the actual release date of “Uptown Funk”.
With respect to Robinson family, it has been quite a lengthy process of formal and informal dealings with the Robinson family, it has been a rough ride for the ladies, in attempts to settle all issues surrounding the music.
However Mark Ronson, along with everyone involved was put on notice upon the release of the song “Uptown Funk”.
After a total of eleven writers were mentioned, as writers, of the song “Uptown Funk” during the Grammy Awards, and the “Sequence” was then omitted from said list, the fight has taken a different turn.
Other artists who have sampled and used their song “Funk You Up”, are as follows: (besides Bruno Mars)
Dr Dre, Erykah Badu, Trina, En Vogue, Old dirty Bastard, and that’s just to name a few, the list goes on.
Cheryl Cook (Cheryl The Pearl), Gwendolyn Chisolm (Blondie), and lead singer/rapper Angie Brown Stone (Angie B.) aka “The Sequence”, will continue to move forward with legal remedies this week.
However, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, along with their legal counsel should look forward to a resolve as we would hate for this to get any uglier than it is now. As well as hopefully put this to bed, and move forward in their lives, and do what they do best, making hit records.
– Kali Bowyer, Publicist Angie Stone and The Sequence
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www.kalibowyer.com
