Mantse Aryeequaye, the mastermind behind the Chalewote Street Art Festival, has taken legal action against rapper Obrafour and producer Hammer. The lawsuit asserts that they have made false claims of having exclusive rights to the popular phrase “killer cut blood.”
This phrase garnered significant attention when Obrafour sued Canadian artist Drake for using it in a song without authorization. In his legal complaint, Mantse Aryeequaye accuses Obrafour of wrongfully asserting ownership of the phrase and obtaining a copyright for it in the United States in September 2022.
Mantse said, “his artistic work, in the form of a spoken word titled “Killer Cut”, was used on the song ‘Oye Ohene’ by 1st defendant (Obrafour) with permission, but without transfer of any rights, nor permission to 1 defendant to register the work as his own, or receive any payments from its subsequent use by anyone in any form.”
“The “Killer Cut” which was used by the 1st Defendant in his song, is separate and distinct from the song recorded by Defendants. It was recorded separately and subsequently infused into the 1st Defendant’s song by the 2nd Defendant (Hammer), mainly to enhance/improve the song.”
Mantse made a bold claim, stating that after finding out about Drake’s request to use a part of the ‘Oye Ohene’ track, he took the initiative to arrange a meeting with Obrafour and Hammer. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as none of his requests were fulfilled.
He later discovered that Obrafour had actually registered the track in the US, including the very phrase that belonged to Mantse. This was seen as a blatant attempt to steal Mantse’s intellectual property and solely profit from his hard work.
Mantse didn’t hold back in expressing his outrage towards the rapper’s actions, firmly stating that they were not only malicious but also intended to divert and exploit the royalties that rightfully belonged to him.
Among his various demands, Mantse sought general damages against Obrafour for misappropriating his work and actively attempting to profit from it while evading any attempts to rectify the situation. He also requested full indemnity for the legal costs that could have been avoided if the situation had been handled differently.
Despite filing the lawsuit in July 2023, Mantse took to Facebook to reveal that Hammer and Obrafour had been evading service by the court’s bailiff. This only added to his frustration and determination to fight for what he believed was rightfully his.
Background
In June 2022, Canadian rapper, Drake, released an album that made waves in the music industry. What caught everyone’s attention was the fact that he had sampled one of Obrafour’s songs on his ‘Calling My Name’ track.
Throughout the song, there was a recurring chant, “Killa cut blood!”, which added a unique flavor to the music. Interestingly, this particular part was sung by Mantse Aryeequaye as an introduction to the 2003 remix of ‘Oye Ohene’ from the Ntete Pa album.
However, things took an unexpected turn when Obrafour decided to take legal action against Drake in a New York court almost a year after the song’s release. Obrafour sought a staggering $10 million in damages, claiming that Drake had not obtained permission to sample his track. He also argued that Drake and other defendants had profited greatly from his work after the release of ‘Calling My Name’.
Surprisingly, Mantse, upon hearing about the lawsuit, took to Twitter to assert his ownership of the phrase ‘Killa cut blood’ in Obrafour’s ‘Oye Ohene’ remix. He made it clear that he had not given up his rights to Obrafour or Da’ Hammer, the track’s producer. Mantse firmly believed that Obrafour couldn’t claim exclusive ownership of the sample, and therefore, shouldn’t be entitled to sole compensation either.