Harmony Samuels Responds To Jermaine Dupri’s Comments On Ciara’s R&B Smash “I Bet”

Mike Wass | July 14, 2015 4:27 pm
Jermaine Dupri Shades Ciara's "I Bet"
Hitmaker Jermaine Dupri thinks Ciara's new hit sounds a lot like Usher's "U Got It Bad."

Ciara’s “I Bet” struck an instant chord with fans when it dropped in late January, but Jermaine Dupri was less impressed. The hitmaker called it a “rip-off of Usher’s ‘U Got It Bad’” in an interview with the AP, saying: “I’m clear on what I made and I’m clear on how music influences people… It might not be as evident as the ‘Blurred Lines’ situation, but I believe the same thing happened to me.”

Harmony Samuels, the producer of CiCi’s platinum-selling hit, initially kept quiet about Jermaine’s comments, but addressed the situation when I spoke to him in early July. (Full interview to come shortly). “I was miffed because I was like, ‘What?’ But at the same time you know what it is? Music is a cycle,” he explained. “Things repeat but they are still completely different.”

“That’s why I never responded,” the Brit continued. “Everybody was like, ‘Harmony, what do you think?’ I said zip.” Not that there’s any bad blood. “I love Jermaine Dupri. He’s in my top ten of producers,” Harmony reveals. “So when he said it, I said ‘I can understand why you feel that way. But it’s not true, so have a good day. I love you.’ And the following week, Usher was in the studio and I was kinda like, ‘There you go.’ He didn’t say shit.”

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