Betty (Get Money)
"Betty (Get Money)", also referred to as just "Betty",[1] is a song by American rapper Yung Gravy, released through Republic Records on June 10, 2022, as the lead single from his third studio album, Marvelous. It was written by Yung Gravy and produced by Nick Seeley, Dillon Francis and Dwilly, along with the credit for its prominent interpolation of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up".[2] The song and its music video, featuring Yung Gravy dancing in a white fur coat, went viral on TikTok shortly after its release, being used in over 300,000 videos.[3]
"Betty (Get Money)"
Background[edit]
The song interpolates the synthesizer, chorus and melody of the 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up" by English singer Rick Astley; as a result, Mike Stock, Matthew Aitken, and Pete Waterman, the writers of the song, are credited as songwriters.[2] Music publishing company Primary Wave owned a percentage of the rights to the song, and Justin Shukat, the president of the company, pitched the idea of interpolating it to Yung Gravy's management. A day later, they had received an instrumental and within two days Gravy had rapped over the beat. Originally, the record was called 'Get Pussy' with the company requesting a redo of the title and some of the lyrics.[4]
"Betty (Get Money)" is the second song by Gravy to receive viral attention on TikTok, with his 2020 track "Oops!" also seeing some success on the application.[1] Of the over 100,000 videos made since its June 2022 release, many include the bridge "Damn Gravy you so vicious, you so clean, so delicious / How come you ain't got no missus?"[1]
Lawsuit[edit]
Although Gravy had obtained a licence for the music and lyrics to "Never Gonna Give You Up", he had not been able to obtain a licence for the original recording, and had not obtained permission from Astley to copy his voice.[5]
On January 26, 2023, Astley filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court, objecting to Gravy's use of an impersonator.[5] The lawsuit cited the 1998 Midler v. Ford Motor Co. case with an impersonator being hired to copy an intended celebrity; Astley was represented by Richard S. Busch who also handled the Pharrell Williams v. Bridgeport Music case regarding the sampling of Marvin Gaye on Blurred Lines.[6]
The case was settled in September 2023, with no details of the settlement divulged.[7]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Betty (Get Money)" is Yung Gravy's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 68 in July 2022.[8]