Ghanaian rapper Michael Elliot Kwabena Okyere Darko, popularly known as Obrafour, has sued Canadian US-based rapper Drake for sampling his song without permission.
After declining to give the OVO label artiste the green light to sample his Oye Ohene remix song which featured Tinny, Drake went ahead to release his Calling My Name song without clearance.
According to the suit in the jurisdiction of the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, Calling My Name (the “Infringing Work”), which was released by Defendant Drake on or about June 17, 2022, contains direct copying—or “sampling”—of vocal excerpts taken from the sound recording of Obrafour’s copyrighted work.
Meanwhile, Obrafour confirmed that he received an email from Drake’s team on June 8, 2022, requesting clearance, but there was no deal to that effect.
“Obrafour had not yet responded to the June 8, 2022 Clearance Email or the follow up June 13, 2022 Clearance Email. Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ album was
released on June 17, 2022,” the suit added.
Interestingly, Obrafour is seeking for damages, in aggregate, in an amount not less than $10,000,000.
Listen to Obrafour’s Oye Ohene intro below:
Listen to Drake’s version below:
Check out the suit below:
Obrafour sues Drake by Dennis Adu on Scribd
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