Rip-off of the day: Karl Wolf, “Africa” vs. Toto, “Africa”

“There are no new ideas,” say my coworkers disdainfully whenever I bring up a blatant ripoff playing on the radio. And lately, there have been a lot of songs proving them right. I’m not talking about cover songs or sampling; I mean songs that steal whole chord progressions, chorus lyrics, and even backing tracks, sometimes in well-meaning, if poorly executed tribute, but usually in order to profit off listener familiarity with the older (usually better) songs.

So we meet again, Karl Wolf. And now you’re ripping off the 80’s. Somehow, I’m not surprised.



However, I have a feeling that I might be missing the point. Maybe Karl Wolf is actually a brilliant and innovative artist who wanted to mash up Toto’s “Africa” (the choruses) and his own “Carrera” (the verses). But instead of using the same technology as all those other hack mashup artists, decided to take it to the next level or at least the Jay-Z/Linkin Park level and perform the resulting song himself. Either Karl Wolf is a genius, or I am for reading that far into the conceptual framework of his music. Actually, I think using “Karl Wolf” and “conceptual framework” in the same sentence nullifies any genius I may have.

The original:


BONUS ROUND! Forward-thinking mashup artist Karl Wolf’s album version of “Africa”, featuring vaguely nonsensical guest rap and appropriately ridonkulous video:

But OH MAN check out that intense air keyboard solo at 3:11! I think I like him now based solely on that.

Rip-off of the day: Divine Brown, “Sunglasses” vs. Corey Hart, “Sunglasses At Night”

This is the first in a series of posts highlighting a sorry trend I’ve been hearing on the radio of late: new songs that blatantly rip off older (usually better) ones. I’m not talking about cover songs or sampling; I mean songs that steal whole chord progressions, chorus lyrics, and even backing tracks, sometimes in well-meaning, if poorly executed tribute, but usually in order to profit off listener familiarity with the older (usually better) songs.


This is the radio rip-off I dislike the least, “Sunglasses” by Divine Brown, which borrows from fellow Canadian Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night”. Though it uses a sound-alike keyboard riff, it’s not really a rip-off in my opinion. It’s a decent song with a catchy chorus, and doesn’t capitalize on the famous original lyrics until the very end, where all good medleys and shout-outs belong. It’s more of a payoff than a hook in itself. Overall, the song strives to be recognized for its own merit, rather than just using the catchiness of the original songwriting to compensate for mediocrity.

For comparison’s sake, here’s the original in all its glory: