Q: Aren’t the hooks in David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” almost identical? It sounds like Vanilla Ice adds one beat after the second series of seven beats. It seems awfully close to plagiarism to me.
—Donald Varn, Conyers
A: Robert Van Winkle, known as Vanilla Ice, paid $4 million to Bowie and Queen, who collaborated on the 1981 song called "Under Pressure," in an out-of-court settlement, he said in a 2006 interview. Van Winkle admitted he "sampled" the bass line from "Under Pressure" on his 1990 hit, "Ice Ice Baby." "Yeah, I paid them," he told the Iowa State Daily. "… That's why when you read the credits on 'Ice Ice Baby' now, it says Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, because they're on there." Mercury was the lead singer for Queen.
Q: I saw a picture of Trayvon Martin that was emailed to me. It shows a young man with tattoos and states that he is over 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. Is this picture accurate?
—Joann Byrd, Fairburn
A: A chain email showing Jayceon Terrell Taylor, a Grammy-nominated rapper known as "Game," circulated this year stating that the person shown in the photo was Martin. Taylor, 33, is 6-4, has a beard in the photo and is heavily tattooed, including a Los Angeles Dodgers logo on his right cheek. Martin was 17 when he was killed on Feb. 26, 2012. He was 5-11, 158 pounds and had one tattoo on each arm at the time of his death, according to the autopsy report.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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