Mantse Aryeequaye who is the founder of Chale Wote Street festival has had his case against rapper Obrafour and music producer Hammar thrown out by an Accra High Court.
This comes after Mantse sued Obrafour and Hammar for claiming ownership of the popular phrase “Killer Cut Blood” used in Obrafour’s Oye Ohene song.
GH¢10,000 was given to Obrafour and Hammer of The Last Two Music Group, who produced the song “Oye Ohene,” at a court session on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
The court dismissed the case due to what it deemed to be “inconsistencies and breach of court rules” in Mantse’s writ, according to the information that could be found.
Mantse filed a lawsuit against Obrafour and Hammer on January 12, 2024. Mantse had claimed in a writ of summons that Obrafour had registered the phrase as his own in the United States in September 2022, devoid of any consent from him or transfer of rights.
He claimed that up until this point, he had no issue with Obrafour and Hammer, the song’s producers, using his well-known “Killer Cut” line—which was taken from his spoken word piece—without getting permission.
Mantse claimed that following a recent incident in which American rapper Drake used “Killer Cut” in a song, he had made multiple unsuccessful attempts to meet with Obrafour and Hammer.
The founder of the Chalewote Festival claims that he filed this legal action after learning that Obrafour had registered the song and the phrase “Killer Cut” in the US.
“Plaintiff says 1st Defendant received notification from some handlers of Drake, (a foreign musician), requesting the use of Plaintiffs work which they wrongly attributed to 1st Defendant, because they heard it on his song ‘Oye Ohene’. 1st defendant did not inform Drake’s handlers that the 1st Defendant was not the owner of the work, but who used it on his song, (just as Drake is to use it). 1st Defendant did not inform Plaintiff, the actual owner of the work, knowing very well that the part of the song being sought by Drake is wholly the intellectual property of the Plaintiff,” part of the writ read.
