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December marks eight months after Ghanaian musician Obrafour filed a lawsuit against Canadian rapper Drake for sampling the remix of his song ‘Oye Ohene.’
Hammer, who is the song’s producer, has finally spoken on the matter.
Speaking on JOY FM’s Showbiz A-Z with Kwame Dadzie, Hammer addressed concerns raised by another musician, Mantse Aryeequaye, whose voice was used by Drake in the sampled remix.
In the wake of the lawsuit, Nii Mantse Aryeequaye argued that he should have been included in the suit because it was his voice that was sampled.
Hammer, however, assured that everyone involved in the song’s production stands to benefit if the court ruling favors Obrafour.
“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 clarified.
Responding to questions about how all contributors were included in the lawsuit, Hammer explained that all who were involved in the song were captured in the suit and Obrafour was leading because he was the owner of the song.
He further revealed that Obrafour had a conversation with all parties involved, including Mantse, before proceeding with the lawsuit.
“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.
“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,” Hammer confirmed.
Background
The controversy arose when Mantse Aryeequaye claimed ownership of the phrase ‘Killer cut, blood’ from the 2003 remix of Obrafour’s ‘Oye Ohene,’ which Drake used in ‘Calling My Name.’
In a series of tweets, Mantse asserted his intellectual property rights and criticized the lawsuit being pursued solely in Obrafour’s name.
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, Obrafour is seeking approximately $10 million in damages, among other claims.
