Well although Mino (Song Min Ho) praised his friend and producer Zico as a genius after hearing the beat that Zico had prepared, it seems some viewers did not agree.





After the recent broadcast of 'Show Me The Money 4', accusations of plagiarism were raised regarding Zico's beat titled "Turtle Boat". Is it just us or are there awfully a lot of plagiarism issues being raised lately?





Some have been saying that the track sounds a lot like Qulinez's "Hookah", and seeing these accusations, Zico responded on his Instagram with a clarification.





"I'm here to briefly explain the speculations that say the main loop and certain parts used in 'Turtle Boat' are very similar to some parts of one DJ's mix track."





"First of all, the oriental source that makes up the top line of 'Turtle Boat' are sounds from a sample CD from 'For Samples', and it was cut and fit to suit the trap beat vibe that I made and embodied in a slightly different method. Of course, we'll have to confirm to see if the 'Hookah' track used the same sampling that I did, but I think it can be overall interpreted as a different genre than 'Turtle Boat'."





He also added, "If I am to borrow the explanation that's written on Duble Sidekick's sample CD, once a purchaser acquires a sample source, then that sample can be used freely. You can think of the sampling as a type of instrument that anyone can use, and that it's not only tied to one specific song just because it has been used in one individual's song."









Hopefully his explanation will clear things up for those who have been raising questions about this matter!





For reference, you can check out Qulinez's "Hookah" below [portion in question starts around the 0:40 mark].