The first cleverly transforms the well-worn waltz of Rodgers and HammersteinвЂ™s 1959 song вЂњMy Favorite ThingsвЂќ from The Sound of Music into an Atlanta-style hemiola, also known as the вЂњMigos Flow.вЂќ Substituting вЂњbottles of bubblesвЂќ for вЂњwhiskers on kittens,вЂќ Grande turns the Broadway duoвЂ™s triple-time rhymes into trappy triplets. Like most songs aimed at the charts, вЂњ7 RingsвЂќ is built around at least two hooks. And 2 ChainzвЂ™s fans noted similarities between вЂњ7 RingsвЂќ and the rapperвЂ™s вЂњ Spend It вЂќ (2011). Soulja Boy called Grande an outright thief on Twitter for copying his song, вЂњ Pretty Boy Swag вЂќ (2010). Princess Nokia was the first to call Grande out, tweeting that it вЂњsounds about whiteвЂќ that the artist copied her flow from вЂњ Mine вЂќ (2017). So when Ariana GrandeвЂ™s вЂњ 7 Rings вЂќ began climbing the charts with a rhythmic cadence that reminded a lot of people of a lot of other songs, it quickly became a platform for discussions of what we deem original and what we hold as communal. At a time when the language of pop is as referential, intertextual, and, sure, derivative as ever, teasing out the lines of influence has become a prominent part of public conversations among artists and fans. Social media fuels the rush to litigate whether familiar riffs and rhythms are exclusive or communal property - debates that are fueled by a history of racial injustice in the music industry. Illustration: Mike McQuade and Photos by Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Joseph Okpako/WireImage and Ethan Miller/Getty Images.ДЄllegations of copying and cultural appropriation are hardly new to popular music, but today, it can feel like nearly every big hit becomes a target.

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