Copyright infringement: Ghanaian rapper slams $10m on Drake

A Ghanaian rap artiste, Obrafour, has slammed a $10 million lawsuit on multiple award-winning Canadian singer, Drake over alleged copyright infringement.

Drake sampled the remix of his 2003 song ‘Oye Ohene’ in ‘Calling My Name,’ without his consent, according to the Ghanaian rapper, in a lawsuit filed in the US district court for the southern district of New York,

The details of the suit indicated that Drake had emailed Obrafour, seeking permission to sample the song but received no response.

The suit added that Drake went ahead to use the sample in the song which was included in his latest album ‘Honestly, Nevermind’.

“Obrafour had not yet responded to the June 8, 2022 Clearance Email or the follow-up June 13, 2022 Clearance Email at the point when Drake’s “Honestly, Nevermind” album was released on June 17, 2022. Meanwhile, Infringing Work is one of the songs appearing on the “Honestly, Nevermind” album, as released to the world by ‘surprise’ on June 17, 2022.

The suit partly reads, “Obrafour sues for copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, and seeks all remedies afforded to him thereunder, including preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, monetary damages, including but not limited to, actual damages, profits directly;

“… and indirectly attributable to from Defendants’ infringing conduct, statutory damages under the Copyright Act in the sum of up to $150,000.00 per infringement where such infringement commenced after the Copyrighted Work was registered with the United States Copyright Office, and other economic relief.”