Obrafour Consulted Mantse – Hammer Opens Up About Drake- Obrafour Suit
Hammer has shed light on the lawsuit filed by Obrafour against Canadian hip-hop star Drake for remixing his evergreen song, ‘Oye Ohene’, without his consent.
As the song’s producer, Hammer finally spoke on the matter during an interview with Kwame Dadzie on JOY FM’s Showbiz A-Z. During the interview, Hammer addressed concerns raised by Mantse Aryeequaye, whose voice was used by Drake in the sampled remix.
Despite Nii Mantse Aryeequaye’s claim to be included in the legal action, Hammer reassured that every individual involved in the production of the song would reap the benefits if the court ruling favoured Obrafour.
Addressing questions regarding the inclusion of all contributors in the lawsuit, Hammer clarified that everyone who played a part in the song was encompassed in the suit, with Obrafour taking the lead due to his ownership of the song.
Additionally, Hammer disclosed that Obrafour had engaged in discussions with all parties involved, including Mantse, before initiating the lawsuit.
“It is everybody on the song against Drake. Obrafour is only leading the conversation. So I don’t know what the hullabaloo was about. 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
Mantse Aryeequaye was dissatisfied with the fact that Obrafour did not acknowledge him as the rightful owner of some aspects of the ‘Oye Ohene’ remix in his lawsuit against Canadian rapper Drake.
Mantse, who previously provided voice-over chants for artists who recorded their songs with beat maker Hammer, took to Twitter to express his frustration with Obrafour for claiming sole ownership of the intro he created for the remix of ‘Oye Ohene.’
Through a court in the United States of America, Obrafour has filed a lawsuit against the Canadian rapper for using the phrase “killer cut, blood, killer cut,” which was delivered by Mantse Aryeequaye. He is seeking $10 million in damages from Drake for sampling that specific sound in his song ‘Calling My Name’ without obtaining permission.
However, in a thread on the Accradotalt Twitter page, Nii Mantse Aryeequaye, who is also the co-founder of the Chalewote Street Art Festival, expressed his disappointment in Obrafour for claiming ownership of his intellectual property without compensating him for all the work he has done for him over the past 20 years.
“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 20yrs,” he tweeted.
