The 'Sauce It Up' spitter has responded to a Korean artist's claim that the rapper stole his work for the album's cover, promising that he will compensate the artist for the inspiring work.
- Mar 17, 2020
AceShowbiz - Lil Uzi Vert is speaking out on plagiarism accusations. A little over a week after releasing "Eternal Atake" album that included a bonus song "That Way", the "Sauce It Up" rapper was accused of copying a South Korean artist's work for the track's cover art, but he was quick to own up to his mistake.
On Saturday, March 14, the artist identified as Tae Tae took to Instagram to post a side-by-side photo of his original work and "That Way" cover art. "I am very upset that I have to write such an article," he wrote in his post. "I saw lil uzi vert's latest album cover art and it was very similar to my painting."
"My picture was posted on my blog six years ago, and it is possible to use it for profile pictures or non-commercial purposes, but it is not allowed to use anything else," the artist continued explaining. "Now I'm very embarrassed and don't want to let this go."
Upon noticing the similarities, fans flooded Tae Tae's post with comments calling for Uzi. Not turning a blind eye to the issue, the 25-year-old rapper liked the post and responded, "Hey, I'm not a mean person or a thief. I get inspired a lot if you want money I will have my team contact you and give you money Signed … Baby Pluto P.s. You're a great artist."
The "20 Min" rapper went on in a follow-up reply, "Just because I'm famous doesn't mean imma ignore the problem or shove money." He further explained, "I wanna help in all areas I love art it's the only thing that keeps me okay and leveled."
Uzi was apparently serious about his offer as Tae Tae, whose real name is Tae Yeon Lee, confirmed that the musician's team has contacted him. "We are currently talking to Lil Uzi's management and there is no conclusion on compensation," he told the Daily Dot. "I will take legal action if the communication is not good."
Though his artwork was being copied, the artist assured he didn't have any bad blood with Uzi. "I'm not in a bad mood. I don't hate Lil Uzi," he noted. "But I had to insist on my rights to the work this way and I'm a little tired of it."
Meanwhile, the animator behind "That Way" cover, Artxstic, has also responded to Tae Tae's accusation. Sharing a capture of the plagiarism news, he wrote in an Instagram Story post, "This guy covered the whole ordeal pretty well. No I'm not mad at Uzi and yes I'm gonna make the original artist happy."
Seemingly receiving hates for the issue, Artxstic later returned to social media with a statement, "I learn from my mistakes, I'll make a post about everything when everyone calms down and listens instead of bashing me for a mistake I've made. Been gaining a lot of hate, ni**as sending s**t like telling me to kill myself in my email, it's crazy bruh. I'm young, I'm human I make mistakes, I'm trying to fix things."
