Ghanaian rapper Obrafour is suing Drake for $10 million for sampling his 2003 track ‘Oye Ohene’ for the song ‘Calling My Name’ without permission.
Drake is facing a $10 million copyright infringement lawsuit for using an allegedly unauthorized sample of another artist’s work. Per the documents presented to a New York court, legendary Ghanaian rapper Obrafour’s copyright was infringed upon when Drake sampled his 2003 remix “Oye Ohene” without permission for the 2022 song “Calling My Name.”
“Defendants released the Infringing Work on June 17, 2022, despite the fact that an agent of one or more Defendants had previously contacted Obrafour seeking to obtain Obrafour’s permission for the use of the Copyrighted Work in the Infringing Work,” reads the court documents. “Obrafour never granted Defendants permission to use the Copyrighted Work, and the Infringing Work was released mere days later.”
Obrafour indicates that, following the release of “Calling My Name,” Drake and other defendants named in the copyright lawsuit — including writers, producers, performers, record labels, entertainment companies, managers, publishers, administrators, and distributors of the infringing song — have greatly benefitted from using his work.
“Over the mere 304 days that have elapsed since the Infringing Work was released, the Infringing Work has already been streamed over 4.1 million times on YouTube, streamed over 47,442,160 times on Spotify, and streamed tens of millions of times on Apple Music,” Obrafour’s lawyers continue.
“In addition to generating enormous sums of global streams and sales across numerous platforms, the Infringing Work has also been exploited by the Defendants via other means, including live performance.”
Obrafour is seeking damages amounting to no less than $10 million, as well as an injunction requiring the ceasing of all parties involved in “causing, enabling, facilitating, encouraging, promoting, inducing, (or) participating in the infringement” of any of the rapper’s rights per the Copyright Act.