Princess Nokia thinks Ariana Grande's new song '7 Rings' sounds 'really familiar' and implied the si
"That sounds really familiar to me," she says in the video. "Wait, ain't that the little song I made about brown women and their hair? Hm, sounds about white."
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The chorus of Princess Nokia's "Mine" repeats the phrase, "It's mine, I bought it," over a similar beat. The song also references buying hair like Grande's song and appears to allude to the cultural significance of hair for black and brown women: "How we choose to wear our hair is our personal choice, ok? We bought it, it's ours."
Okayplayer music editor Ivie Ani noted that Nokia's argument seems to be "more about the hair lyric/content than the flow."
"I think ppl's concern here is specific," she wrote on Twitter . "Less about the sonic origins of 'spend it'/'mine' & more about the context of Ariana being white & rapping about buying hair and Princess Nokia rapping about buying hair and the policing of+fixation with black and brown image by white ppl."
Four of Grande's co-ring owners, two of whom are women of color Njomza, Kaydence, Tayla Parx, and Victoria Mont are credited as co-writers on the track. The song's producers, TBHits,Scootie, and Mikey Foster, are also credited as co-writers.
The song samples "My Favorite Things"from "The Sound of Music,"interpolatesThe Notorious B.I.G.'s "Gimme The Loot," and pays homage to artists like Lil Mamaand Destiny's Child.
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Some listeners have noted that Grande appears to be intentionally drawing from a large swath of inspirations possibly including Princess Nokia.
It's certainly true that the current state of both hip-hop and pop is one of collaboration and sampling.
Similar flows and lyrics to both "7 Rings" and "Mine" have been interpolated many times before, with many citing 2 Chainz's "Spend It" and Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag" as more possible inspiration.
Many, however, seem to agree with Princess Nokia's assessment of the similarities, with some going so far as to call it a "rip off" or "plagiarism."
Neither representatives for Nokia nor Grande immediately responded to INSIDER's request for comment.
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