Three months after Obrafour sued Canadian rapper Drake for sampling the remix of his song ‘Oye Ohene’, the producer of the song, Hammer, has spoken.
Hammer has responded to agitations by Mantse Aryeequaye whose voice was used by Drake that Obrafour led the suit on behalf of every body who contributed to the composition of the song.
Speaking to Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM‘s Showbiz A-Z, Hammer said everyone who played a role in the production benefits if the verdict goes in favour of Obrafour.
In the wake of the controversy, Nii Mantse took to Twitter to assert that he should have been included in the suit because it was his voice that was sampled.
However, Hammer says that there is nothing to worry about.
“It is everybody on the song against Drake. Obrafour is only leading the conversation. So I don’t know what the hullabaloo was about,” he said.
Asked how the writ includes all the actors when their names were not written, Hammer said “we are mentioned in the docket. The publishing of the song has Tina, Tinny, Mantse, me and Obrafour. Obrafour is the one leading because it’s his song. He owns the copyright.”
Hammer also indicated that Obrafour had a conversation with Mantse and everybody involved before he went in for the suit.
“He spoke to everybody. I connected the conference call. We were all on the call. We all agreed and Obrafour went on with the suit,” he stated.
The chant ‘killer cut, blood’ on the 2003 remix of Obrafour’s ‘Oye Ohene’ is what Drake used for ‘Calling My Name’ taken off the ‘Honestly Nevermind’ album.
The Mantse controversy
In a series of tweets directed at Drake, Mantse wrote on Twitter (X) that he was the sole owner of the phrase ‘Killa cut blood’ on Obrafour’s ‘Oye Ohene’ remix.
He stated that he did not relinquish his rights to Obrafour and Da’ Hammer, producer of the track and thus not only can Obrafour not claim sole ownership of the sample but he also cannot be given sole compensation.
“I Mantse Aryeequaye maintain my intellectual property rights and claim over all my artistic works including the ‘Killer Cut’ sound you sampled off ‘Oye Ohene’ remix used on Obrafuor’s album My lawyer Kofi Bentil esq. of Lex Praxis Incorporated [email protected] who is pursuing this matter has informed me of a lawsuit against you solely in the name of @IamObrafuor,’ he wrote.
“This is to confirm I [Mantse Aryeequaye] insist that although @IamObrafuor has an interest in the matter, he is not the owner of the right, and cannot assert it, definitely not alone, or make any demands for sole compensation for its use,” he noted.
In the meantime, Obrafour is seeking about $10 million in damages, among other things.
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