Drake alleged to have 'jacked' tune from fellow artist

Drake's new release Hotline Bling has drawn comparisons to a song called Cha Cha by fellow artist D.R.A.M. Photo / Getty

Rapper, singer, songwriter D.R.A.M has alleged Drake "jacked" his tune with the new single Hotline Bling.

Drake told The Fader in a previous interview his latest offering was inspired by a "sunnier" sound but D.R.A.M was "bitter" about overnight comparisons to his own hit Cha Cha.

The Virginia artist was on tour in Toronto as a new clip for Hotline Bling dropped yesterday and took to Twitter to express his angst.

Just performed in Toronto for the 1st time tonight and it was bittersweet.

— SHELLEY fka DRAM (@BIGBABYDRAM) October 20, 2015

Sweet cus I’m out here sharing my music, my sound with the people..

— SHELLEY fka DRAM (@BIGBABYDRAM) October 20, 2015

Bitter though, cus after my performance all I’m seeing is Cha Cha/Hotline Bling comparisons on my timeline.

— SHELLEY fka DRAM (@BIGBABYDRAM) October 20, 2015

Yeah, I feel I got jacked for my record...But I’m GOOD.

— SHELLEY fka DRAM (@BIGBABYDRAM) October 20, 2015

Drake described the process of creating Hotline Bling as taking a familiar rhythm and putting his own twist on it.

"You know, like in Jamaica, you'll have a riddim and it's like, everyone has to do a song on that. Imagine that in rap, or imagine that in R&B," he told The Fader.

"Imagine if we got one beat and every single person-me, this guy, this guy, all these guys-had to do a song on that one beat. So sometimes I'll pick a beat that's a bit, like, sunnier, I guess is the word you used, than usual, and I just try my hand at it. And that's kind of what Hotline Bling was. And I loved it. It's cool."

Hotline Bling samples Why Can't We Live Together by Timmy Thomas which also draws resemblance to Cha Cha.

Accoring to BMI Thomas is credited as a songwriter on Hotline Bling, but he is not credited on Cha Cha.

Four months ago, Drake came under fire from another fellow rapper Meek Mill who accused him of not writing his own songs in a Tweet.

Drake responded in verse with a diss song entitled Charged Up.

The hit No. 1 on Billboard's Trending 140 chart, which looks at social media impact in the United States.

"Wow, I'm honored that you think this is staged," he rapped over a minimalist beat.

"I seen it all coming... 'cause it ain't like I need the money I make off a feature'," Drake said, presumably explaining why he did not promote Mill's album.

- nzherald.co.nz additional reporting by The Fader