EsDeeKid criticizes The Chainsmokers' unauthorized '4 Raws' remix

6 hours ago7 min read

The music world is no stranger to a good, old-fashioned remix spat, but the latest dust-up between UK drill artist EsDeeKid and global EDM titans The Chainsmokers has a particularly sharp edge to it, cutting straight to the heart of artistic ownership and respect in the digital age. It all ignited when The Chainsmokers, the American DJ duo of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, dropped a high-energy, festival-ready flip of EsDeeKid’s gritty track ‘4 Raws’ during a live set.The problem? According to EsDeeKid, they never asked. The artist’s reaction was swift and unequivocal, posting on social media with a mix of disbelief and defiance: “That Chainsmokers remix is getting NUKED – mate wow please.” That single sentence, loaded with the casual venom of online discourse, wasn’t just a complaint; it was a declaration of war from the streets to the mainstage, highlighting the perennial tension between underground authenticity and mainstream co-option. For those who follow the drill scene, EsDeeKid’s ‘4 Raws’ is a signature work, a track built on menacing basslines and raw, narrative-driven lyrics that paint a picture of life in London’s estates.It’s music that comes from a specific place and experience, a world away from the candy-coated drops and hands-in-the-air euphoria that The Chainsmokers have perfected for stadiums from Las Vegas to Shanghai. The unauthorized remix, therefore, isn’t just a legal faux pas—it’s a cultural collision.It raises immediate questions about the protocols (or lack thereof) in dance music, where bootlegs and unofficial edits have long been a staple of DJ culture, often walked a grey line between homage and theft. Historically, figures like Daft Punk or Deadmau5 might have their tracks reworked by bedroom producers, but when the flow reverses—when a commercial powerhouse with vast resources takes from a rising star in a genre known for its territorial pride—the dynamic shifts dramatically.This incident echoes past controversies, like when A-Trak famously called out David Guetta for playing an uncleared edit, or the ongoing debates around sampling in hip-hop. The Chainsmokers, for their part, have built a brand on savvy, hit-making collaborations, but their move here feels like a misstep from a bygone era, a failure to recognize that today’s artists, especially from genres like drill, are hyper-aware of their intellectual property and cultural capital.The potential consequences are multifaceted. Legally, EsDeeKid holds the cards; if the remix was indeed created and performed without clearing the underlying composition or master recording, he has grounds for a takedown and potentially significant damages, especially if the track sees official release or generates revenue.

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