“You’ve never paid a dime my works on your songs over the last 20yrs”- Mantse calls out Obrafour over Drake’s suit
Chief Executive Officer of Chale Wote Street Arts Festival, Mantse Nii Aryeequaye is not taking Obrafour’s lawsuit against Drake likely.
In a court document that has surfaced online, Obrafour is demanding $10 million from Drake for sampling his ‘Oye Ohene’ Remix on his track, ‘Calling My Name’ off his ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ album without seeking permission from him.
Among others, Obrafour is seeking damages in an amount not less than $10,000,000.
The sample is found at 0:53 seconds of the Drake tune, a soundbite that says “killer cut” which Mantse has come out to say that it is his voice.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Chale Wote Street Arts Festival, who was into music years back, Obrafour cannot claim ownership of the soundbite because he wasn’t paid for it.
“Hi Mike @iamobrafour I’m disappointed at your actions. Would be good to tell the public the truth about this matter or I will be forced to lay out how you’ve never paid a dime for any of my works on your songs over the last 20yr,” he tweeted.
In another tweet, he continued that “Mike @iamobrafour please tell your coons I’ve been trying to get you to meet my lawyers since @Drake released that song. You cannot claim compensation on my intellectual property that you also didn’t pay for. We can revert to what I suggested last year and keep it moving”.
“For the record @iamobrafour filed a law suit to lay claim to my intellectual property without notification. Mike I expect you to tell the truth about this matter or I will,” he emphasized in the tweets below.
American lawyer, Rob Freund, who broke the news said “today, @iamobrafour sued @Drake for copyright infringement for sampling “Oye Ohene (Remix)” in the track “Calling My Name.”
“Obrafour says Drake’ previously sought permission to use the work, didn’t get it, and released the track days later anyway,” he added as she shared the legal documents addressed to the Southern District Court Of New York.
Excerpts of Obrafour’s suit reads “on June 13, 2022, Obrafour had not yet responded to the June 8, 2022 Clearance Email, and Mannis-Gardner sent Obrafour a follow-up email simply stating, “Hi confirming you received this email thanks (sic]” (the “June 13, 2022 Clearance Email”). The June 13, 2022
Clearance Email is annexed hereto as EXHIBIT D. 39. On June 17, 2022, a fourteen-song studio album entitled “Honestly, Nevermind” by Drake was released by Defendants Drake, OVO, Republic, and Universal, only hours after Drake and OVO announced the album on social media. In doing so, Drake, OVO, Republic, and Universal released “Honestly, Nevermind” pursuant to an increasingly prevalent ‘surprise’ model for high-profile commercial album releases, whereby an album is suddenly released by ‘surprise’. i.e., either with little or no notice or promotion to the consuming public. This ‘surprise”.
