By Marc Lostracco

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good beef between two rappers (and release date conflicts don’t constitute beef, Kanye and Fifty), but here’s one that may have some artistic merit: Toronto rapper Seazon claims that American hip-hop star Chamillionaire (“Ridin’”) jacked his idea for a music video.
According to hip-hop news site SOHH.com, the video for Chamillionaire’s “Evening News” (above right) bears striking resemblances to Seazon’s video for “The Reporter” (above left). Both clips feature the respective rappers delivering the news as themselves, which isn’t a particularly unique idea, but there are some other factors to consider: both MCs are made-up in whiteface and interact with themselves via splitscreen, Seazon’s video played quite a bit on Much Music, and both artists are signed to the Universal Music Group.
“I’ve never heard of it,” said Chamillionare when asked about the allegations, according to SOHH.com. “To have something like mine and he did it before me and I’ve never heard of it—it means great minds think alike.” Despite having previous beef with rapper Mike Jones, Chamillionaire has denounced the practice of hip-hop crews feuding with each other, as well as, uh, the media for perpetuating the trend.
Seazon claims that his Canadian label reps have advised him to seek legal counsel, though he likely wouldn’t have much of a case. Plus, the publicity gained from a public beef with a well-known rapper is probably worth the cost of the entire video. Still, it’s one of those things that make you go, “hmmm…”