Ghanaian rapper Obrafuor dey sue global superstar Drake for sampling “vocal excerpts” en 2003 song ‘Oye Ohene’ without permission, e claim.
Rapper Obrafuor sue Drake for court inside New York, US after Drake sample popular line “killer cut, blood, killer cut” from en ‘Oye Ohene’ hit song wey he release in 2003.
He ask de court to slap not less than $10 million dollars in damages for copyright infringement on Drake.
Facts of de matter wey make Obrafuor sue Drake
Inside de court documents wey BBC Pidgin sight, Obrafuor make de case say “defendants release de infringing work on 17 June 2022, despite de fact that an agent of one or more defendants contact Obrafuor to get Obrafuor permission for use of de copyright work…”
Mannis-Gardener on 8 June 2022 send Clearance Email as agent on behalf of Drake to obtain sample clearances.
However by 13 June 2022, Obrafuor no respond to de 8 June 2022 Clearance email wey Mannis-Gardner send follow up mail which simply state, “Hi confirming you receive dis email thanks.”
Obrafour seeks at least $10 million in damages.
Complaint: https://t.co/v84eQUFxMz
— Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) April 19, 2023
Then on 17 June 2022, rapper Drake release fourteen-song studio album entitled “Honestly, Nevermind.”
By then Obrafuor still no respond to de 8 June 2022 Clearance Email or 13 June 2022 follow up.
De Ghanaian musician Obrafuor claim say despite not giving copyright clearance, Drake use vocal excerpts of en 2003 song “killer cut, blood, killer cut” on track six of song.
On that Track 6, ‘Calling My Name’, Drake sample de vocal excerpts around 0:53 seconds of de song.
Interesting development be say another individual, Mantse Nii Aryeequaye publicly tweet at rapper Drake say de voice ‘killer cut, blood, killer cut’ be en voice.
Sake of that, he be de copyright holder and any conversation or settlement on de matter for involve am.
Drake and im management never respond to all de claims.
What Obrafuor dey ask from de court?
Obrafuor dey argue say he be de sole and exclusive owner of US Copyright in all rights, titles and interests in de Copyrighted Work “Oye Ohene (Remix).”
He dey ask de court to establish say de Defendant, Drake no seek or receive permission to copy or use any portion of de Copyrighted Work on de track, “Calling My Name.”
Also, he want make de court establish say Drake get financial benefits from de copyright infringement so de court for find am liable.
As a result of Drake action, Obrafuor suffer actual damages including lost profits, lost opportunities den loss of goodwill while de Drake profit millions of dollars from de infringement.
Based on dis, he want de court award actual damages, profits of de Defendant which he get from de “exploitation of Copyright Work, domestically and internationally.
He also dey ask for de court to make Drake pay for en legal fees.
In total, Obrafuor dey ask for “amount not less than $10,000,000.”
Who be Ghanaian Obrafuor
Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko popularly known as Obrafour, be Ghanaian rapper wey break into de music scene around 1999.
Ghanaians dey credit Obrafuor as one of de pioneers of de hip life genre sake of de impact he make during en active music days.
En debut album, ‘Pae Mu Ka’ rise to become one of de biggest albums in Ghana.
In year 2000, Obrafuor win Rapper of de year, Hiplife song of de year and new artiste of de year after dropping ‘Pae Mu Ka.’
Obrafour unique Twi rapping, storytelling and use of proverbs make am popular among both young and old sake of de quality of en lyrics.
