The more Rihanna becomes famous, the more she is morphing into the naughtier little sister of Beyonce. Word on the street is that the overworked pop star and her frequent music video collaborator Melina have come under fire yet again for plagarizing ideas into their music videos. The first time it was when they were taken to court by photographer/director David LaChapelle for plagarizing some of his photography ideas in their S&M video (it was later settled out of court). Now RiRi and Melina are being accused of plagarizing their You Da One video.
Some of the visuals in the video resemble some of the work by photographer Solve Sundsbo, featuring model Edita Vilkeviciute. I haven't heard whether or not Solve is crying plagarism or is looking to file a lawsuit, but I'm starting to think it may be time for Rihanna's team to start shopping for a fresh new director with an edgy vision like Rihanna's entire image has been made up to be.
I'm sure those Rihanna fans that eat her doo doo on a regular basis will say that there are no new ideas under the sun, but let me point out something I always have to tell folks who aren't necessarily artists. There is nothing wrong with being inspired by someone's work. What makes it stealing is when you literally copy what the artist you have been inspired by ver batem without elevating it to another level to make it your own. I understand Rihanna is a busy woman, and she doesn't have the time to come up with ideas for her music videos (which is where the director comes in), but Melina has been coming under fire quite a bit lately. In addition to the two RiRi video fiascos, Melina also directed Kelly Rowland's Lay It On Me MV, and was called out for plagarizing ideas from herself (two years ago Melina directed Livvi Franc's I'm That Bitch which shared similar visuals) I think it may be about time that artists, such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Kelly Rowland and too many to mention here need to start paying more attention to what they are attaching their names to in the future. Unless, of course, they're not totally in control of their careers as they would like us to believe.
Check out You Da One below...
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