{"id":59635,"date":"2023-04-20T08:56:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T08:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/04\/20\/obrafour-sues-drake-for-10m-after-rapper-sampled-oye-ohene-without-consent-2\/"},"modified":"2023-04-20T08:56:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T08:56:01","slug":"obrafour-sues-drake-for-10m-after-rapper-sampled-oye-ohene-without-consent-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/04\/20\/obrafour-sues-drake-for-10m-after-rapper-sampled-oye-ohene-without-consent-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Obrafour sues Drake for $10m after rapper sampled \u2018Oye Ohene\u2019 without consent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ghana\u2019s Hiplife legend, Obrafour born Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko is suing Canadian rapper Drake for sampling his 2003 remix of \u2018Oye Ohene\u2019 on his song \u2018Calling My Name\u2019 off the Honestly Nevermind album.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the documents presented to a court in New York, Obrafour stated that Drake infringed on his copyright when he sampled his song without permission.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants released the Infringing Work on June 17, 2022, despite the fact that an agent of one or more Defendants had previously contacted Obrafour seeking to obtain Obrafour\u2019s permission for the use of the Copyrighted Work in the Infringing Work.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Go ahead and sue me if you are a man\u201d ; Ayisha Modi dares \u2018ungrateful\u2019 Obrafour<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Obrafour
Obrafour and Drake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cObrafour never granted Defendants permission to use the Copyrighted Work and the Infringing work was released mere days later,\u201d parts of the document read.<\/p>\n

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The Ghanaian rapper indicated that Drake and other defendants following the release of \u2018Calling My Name\u2019 has greatly benefited from his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date, over the mere 304 days that have elapsed since the Infringing Work was released, the Infringing Work has already been streamed over 4.1 million times on YouTube, streamed over 47,442,160 times on Spotify, and streamed tens of millions of times on Apple .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to generating enormous sums of global streams and sales across numerous platforms, the Infringing Work has also been exploited by the Defendants via other means, including live performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among others, Obrafour is seeking damages in an amount not less than $10,000,000.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Drake fan falls from balcony during Apollo Concert, Videos Show<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Obrafour\"
Drake and Obrafour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He is also seeking an injunction requiring the \u201cdefendants and their agents, employees, officers, attorneys, successors, licensees, partners, and assigns, and all persons acting in concert or participation with each or any one of them, to cease directly and indirectly infringing, and causing, enabling, facilitating, encouraging, promoting, inducing, and\/or participating in the infringement of any of Obrafour\u2019s rights protected by the Copyright Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, other defendants in the suit include writers, producers, performers, record labels, entertainment companies, publishers, managers, administrators, and\/or distributors of the infringing work.<\/p>\n

In June 2022, Canadian rapper, Drake surprised his fans with \u2018Honestly, Nevermind\u2019 but for Ghanaians, it was a double surprise.<\/p>\n

On Track 6, \u2018Calling My Name\u2019, Drake sampled a beloved popular song from one of Ghana\u2019s best musicians alive, Obrafour.<\/p>\n

The sample is found at 0:53 seconds of the Drake tune, where it transitions into a house music vibe sending the song into a different type of ambiance compared to its initial trajectory.<\/p>\n

\u201cKilla cut!\u201d is the chant heard multiple times.<\/p>\n

That part was sung by Mantse Aryeequaye as an opener to the late 2003 remix of \u2018Oye Ohene\u2019 off the Ntete Pa album.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full court document<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

ALSO READ:Obrafour slaps Ayisha Modi, Delay with law suit over defamatory statements<\/strong><\/p>\n

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