Entertainment
Obrafour sues Drake for $10m after rapper sampled ‘Oye Ohene’ without consent
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Legendary Ghanaian rapper Obrafour is suing popular Canadian rapper Drake for sampling his 2003 remix of ‘Oye Ohene’ on his song ‘Calling My Name’ off the Honestly Nevermind album.
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.
“Defendants 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’s permission for the use of the Copyrighted Work in the Infringing Work.”
“Obrafour never granted Defendants permission to use the Copyrighted Work and the Infringing work was released mere days later,” parts of the document read.
The Ghanaian rapper indicated that Drake and other defendants following the release of ‘Calling My Name’ has greatly benefited from his work.
“To 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 Music.”
“In 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.”
Among others, Obrafour is seeking damages in an amount not less than $10,000,000.
He is also seeking an injunction requiring the “defendants 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’s rights protected by the Copyright Act.”
Meanwhile, other defendants in the suit include writers, producers, performers, record labels, entertainment companies, publishers, managers, administrators, and/or distributors of the infringing work.
In June 2022, Canadian rapper, Drake surprised his fans with ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ but for Ghanaians, it was a double surprise.
On Track 6, ‘Calling My Name’, Drake sampled a beloved popular song from one of Ghana’s best musicians alive, Obrafour.
Drake samples Ghana’s Obrafour on new ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ Album
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.
“Killa cut!” is the chant heard multiple times.
That part was sung by Mantse Aryeequaye as an opener to the late 2003 remix of ‘Oye Ohene’ off the Ntete Pa album.
Credit: Myjoyonline.com
Award-winning Ghanaian rapper, Michael Addo popularly known as Sarkodie, has called for a deeper and more sustainable partnership between Ghana’s creative industry and the financial technology sector.
The rapper made the call on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy call on the management of MobileMoney Fintech Limited at the company’s head office in Accra to explore opportunities for collaboration beyond the conventional corporate sponsorship arrangement.
The meeting focused on how the two sectors could work together to promote financial inclusion, digital financial services and opportunities within Ghana’s growing creative economy.
The rapper acknowledged MobileMoney Fintech Ltd’s past support for his annual Rapperholic concert, but emphasised that his broader objective was to establish a long-term partnership that creates sustainable value for both the company and the creative industry.
“I am here today not like the usual business where we come and ask, ‘Can we get sponsorship for our show?’ and that’s it. It goes beyond just coming in and getting support,” Sarkodie said.
He pointed out that artistes and creative professionals maintain long-term visions for their careers including album releases, tours, brand initiatives, and community engagement programmes and argued that corporate partnerships should be structured around shared objectives.
Sarkodie proposed to use his upcoming campus tour as a platform for MobileMoney Fintech Ltd to engage directly with young people, raising awareness about the company’s new MoMo app and its comprehensive suite for financial services.
Welcoming Sarkodie and his team, the Chief Executive Officer of MobileMoney Fintech Ltd, Mr Shaibu Haruna, described the visit as an important step towards strengthening the relationship between the creative and Fintech industries.
Mr Haruna explained that although MobileMoney Fintech Ltd was primarily a technology-driven company, its relationship with the entertainment industry remained strategic because of the enormous reach and influence of both sectors.
Both parties expressed commitment to future engagements to identify concrete areas of cooperation, focusing heavily on expanding financial inclusion, connecting young people to digital financial services, and accelerating the growth of Ghana’s creative economy.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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It was a night of fun and excitement as thousands converged at the National Theatre for Nana Osei Bonsu annual comedy special in Accra.
Themed: ‘Comfortably Struggling’, was built around his personal experiences, using humour to explore the realities, challenges and lessons that comes with everyday life.
The one-hour solid performance kept the audience engaged from start to finish, with his personal stories providing the foundation for a night of comedy and relatable storytelling.
Nana Osei Bonsu known in showbiz circles as MC Okokobioko told The Spectator Agoro that the show further cements his growing influence in Ghana’s comedy and entertainment space.
According to MC Okokobioko this years comedy show gives a summary about his personal life that even the struggles of life can become a reason for each and every one to laugh again.
The show featured an impressive line-up of Ghanaian and international comedians, including MJ The Comedian, Ranzy Ray, Talk Plenty, Parrot Mouth, Kweku Manu, Alphenomina, Jeneral Ntatia, Slim Saint from Nigeria and Papayaw Atamle who served as the MC for the night.
Best known as Africa’s Biggest Viral Wedding MC, he has successfully expanded that identity into stand-up comedy.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
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