Drake Sued For $10m Over ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ Sample
Clearing a sample is great to work for every artist. But Drake has failed to do and he is being sued over a sample that added an integral part of his Honestly, Nevermind which was released in 2022.
It’s quite unfortunate that this is happening now after the success of the album. Drake thought of getting sued by a Ghanaian obrafour whose real name is Michael Elliot Kwabena. The artist who is well known for his 2018 hit Kesiebo has taken legal action against Drake.
You if have not heard, Drake used Obrafour’s sample on one of his tracks on Honestly, Nevermind, Calling My Name is the track In question. Billboard has noted that the artist took the action through the U.S. District Court southern district of New York.
Obrafour is not happy about how Drake sued his sample without permission. He said that the sample came from one of his works. At the 53-second mark of Drake’s version of that track, a vocalist can be heard saying “Killer cut, blood, killer cut,” which the Ghanaian artist claims is a line from his 2003 remix of “Oye Ohene.”
Some of the Ghanaian artists are not happy about the sample used by Drake. Meanwhile, Obra is seeking for about $10 million in damages. The lawsuit has also started the same thing. Along with Drake, the lawsuit names a whole host of co-defendants, including Drizzy’s record company OVO, Republic Records, its owner, Universal Music Group (UMG), among others.
Also named in the suit are music producer Alex Lustig, DJ Diamante Blackmon (current stage name GORDO, formerly Carnage), songwriter and producer Johannes Klahr, and musician Beau Nox, all of whom are listed as producers or writers on the track.
According to the complaint, Drake’s agent emailed Obrafour asking for permission to sample the song just days before the project came out — the email was sent on June 8, 2022, and the agent followed up on June 13.
A source revealed to us that the Ghanaian artist, already knew Drake used his sample. But he was hoping for Drake to credit him at least. While that has failed, Obra has to take legal action. What also made him sue Drake legally is the song has gotten more views on YouTube and notable streams on Spotify.
“Defendants continue to engage in infringement, despite acknowledging that they needed to secure rights and authorization from Obrafour,” the rapper’s legal team wrote. “Defendants have never accounted to, credited, or otherwise compensated Obrafour for their unauthorized use of the copyrighted work.”
Apart from the $10million in damages, the lawsuit also seeks profits from record sales, streaming, live performances, and other sources of revenue associated with “Calling My Name.” In addition, Obrafour is requesting compensation for legal expenses.
Just like in the U.S., Obrafour is also one of the top Ghanaian artists who make good songs. So far, we are yet to hear from Drake following the huge amount of money that’s about to take away from him. Below you can listen to the song.
In other news, Drake is one of the rappers Aswehiphop is compiling his 2023 songs and features. You can check it out to see all the songs Drake has released in 2023.
