For listeners who eagerly dove into J. Cole’s new album, 4 Your Eyez Only, one particular song may have boasted a very familiar sound.
The Boi-1da & Vinylz-produced track “Deja Vu” features nearly the exact same beat as Bryson Tiller’s megahit “Exchange,” a song produced by The Mekanics. The Florida duo consists of Michael “Foreign Teck” Hernandez and Rico “5 Star” Evans, who have created beats for the likes of Tory Lanez, French Montana and Post Malone.
Via Twitter, Boi-1da offered a simple explanation for the similarity: the beat was stolen and given to Tiller.
AD LOADING...
“Maybe @ForeignTeck can explain why to y’all why Exchange and Deja Vu sound similar… right @Vinylz ?,” Boi-1da wrote while questioning Foreign Teck on Twitter.
Maybe @ForeignTeck can explain why to y'all why Exchange and Deja Vu sound similar… right @Vinylz ?
— Boi-1da (@Boi1da) December 9, 2016
Foreign Teck laughed off the accusation, and declared both Boi-1da & Vinylz “petty.”
AD LOADING...
“damn @Boi1da wake up everyday tryna come for me lmao i’m honored. at the end of the day you one of my favorite to ever do it man…@vinylz @boi1da got more money than me, wayyyy more placements than me and still come for me on a daily. yall the definition of petty lol,” Foreign Teck wrote in two separate tweets.
damn @Boi1da wake up everyday tryna come for me lmao i'm honored. at the end of the day you one of my favorite to ever do it man
— Foreign Teck (@ForeignTeck) December 9, 2016
@ForeignTeck Just letting the ppl know that you're a thief and this has nothing to do with anyone but you.
— Boi-1da (@Boi1da) December 9, 2016
@vinylz@boi1da got more money than me, wayyyy more placements than me and still come for me on a daily. yall the definition of petty lol
— Foreign Teck (@ForeignTeck) December 9, 2016
@ForeignTeck you're really out here reverse engineering beats. It ain't about money and placements, it's the principle.
— Boi-1da (@Boi1da) December 9, 2016
Vinylz soon joined in on the Twitter exchange, labeling Foreign Teck a “thief,” and revealed that Cole’s “Deja Vu” was recorded before Tiller’s “Exchange.”
Then go listen to Meek – U know and Deja Vu back to back. Ripped my drum pattern. Shit brazy lol no class
— Boi-1da (@Boi1da) December 9, 2016
Lol thief .. all good tho.. our run continues as always with out stealing shit …we create not remake.. https://t.co/1LgZtG0Yu8
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
Me and @Boi1da made that exchange beat first. It was stolen from us by a thief named @ForeignTeck . Cole song was recorded before exchange
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
I sent this thief a video of me making the Deja Vu beat..a week later he post a beat on ig with the same drums. I made him take it down.
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
He said "I'm sorry bro.. I was inspired . I look up to you" few months later he decides to remake the whole beat and give it to Bryson
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
The producer went on to offer up a handful of other details regarding “Exchange,” saying that he was offered publishing for the song.
He even offered me publishing on the song.. why would u offer publishing if you didn't steal it?…
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
Fuck all this shit tho. This ain't even my style. Me and 1da make hits in our sleep. We just had to address this.
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
S/o to my brother Bryson . He has nothing to do with this. This is all directed at the producer
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
I have no problem with producers being inspired and trying to sound like me .. but don't steal my shit and put it out before me..
— Vinylz (@Vinylz) December 9, 2016
Foreign Teck continued to defend himself with a few more tweets, also pointing out that he’d been previously accused of stealing the same beat by a producer named G Money, who laid out his claim in a 2016 video that has more than 200,000 views on YouTube.
When The Hate Don't Work They Start Tellin Lies …
— Foreign Teck (@ForeignTeck) December 9, 2016
https://t.co/0It4HowCm2 perfect time to address this! this clown said i stole it from him. how many niggas i stole ONE beat from? smh
— Foreign Teck (@ForeignTeck) December 9, 2016
if @Vinylz tweeted that the sky was green some of y'all dickriders would believe him. smh
— Foreign Teck (@ForeignTeck) December 9, 2016
