He discussed what he ripped off. Where he took it will never change the original appropriation.
“He discussed what he ripped off.”
“Ripped off” is a very derogatory term. “Was influenced by” is more correct term, and is very common in music.
And instead of “dumbing it down” like the bass line at the beginning of “Under Pressure” used by Vanilla Ice repeated ad nauseam for “Ice Ice Baby” he turned it into a much more complex intro.