BTS fans call out Ex Batallion members for allegedly copying K-pop group's 'Ddaeng'

Filipino ARMYs are calling out Ex Batallion members Flow G and Skusta Clee for allegedly plagiarizing a BTS song to promote a local clothing brand back on September 22, 2020.

According to fans, the 1-minute song titled “Deym” sounds eerily familiar to the K-pop group's “Ddaeng” which was released back on June 10, 2018, via SoundCloud.

BTS's “Ddaeng” was part of the K-pop group's fifth anniversary “Festa” celebration. The track was produced by J. Pearl and BTS member Suga and performed by the three rappers of the group--RM, Suga, and J-Hope.

The song uses a metaphor from the popular Korean card game Go-Stop to brag about BTS's global success after facing criticism and ridicule in their early years.

Compare the two songs below:

As of this writing, fans have been posting side by side versions of the two tracks and asking their fellow ARMYs to report it to BTS's label, BigHit Entertainment.

Ex Batallion airs their side of the story
On October 7, the camp of Ex Batallion members Skusta Clee and Flow G released a statement denying the said allegations and said that the group used a “generic triplet flow which is not owned by anyone as they are of public domain.”

“Other international artists also used this cadence over the years such as A$AP Rocky and Quavo.

“We would like to point out that the context of these songs is different and 'vibe' is subjective. Parallel thinking among artists does happen and it cannot be avoided,” the statement said as reported by GMA News Online.

Additionally, band manager Mairon Philip Soliman said that Skusta Clee's only participation was to model the apparel featured in the 1-minute video. “Deym” was performed and written by Flow G and produced by Flip D as a promotional track for the former's brand 199x Clothing Line Brand.

He also said that the tweet going around social media involving Skusta Clee was from a dummy account and that he will not face conviction for copyright infringement.

On Tuesday, GMA Network originally published the alleged plagiarism issue involving Skusta Clee. It wrongfully cited Skusta Clee's involvement and quoted the dummy account in the process. We sincerely apologize for posting the story without clarifying the said allegations first.