Lawyers for the veteran Ghanaian music group Alabaster Box have sent a cease and desist letter to rapper Medikal for unauthorized sampling of their long-time hit ‘Akwaaba‘ in his newest record titled ‘Welcome to Africa’.
In a letter addressed to the Ghanaian rapper, real name Samuel Adu Frimpong, the lawyers informed the rapper about his offending conduct and called for him to cease all actions infringing on Alabaster Box’s copyright.
Medikal was warned that if he failed to heed the specific demands of the group, he would face legal action to protect their interests.
Medikal’s ‘Welcome to Africa’ begins with a jingle similar to the famous intro to the ‘Akwaaba’ song, which the letter notes.
“…at the beginning of your song in 10 seconds, in great detail and similarity, you created a derivative work of our clients’ copyright material, violating their exclusive rights under the law,” the statement reads, in part.
The letter goes on to accuse Medikal of engaging in a ‘deliberate and concerted attempt’ to unfairly exploit the intellectual property of Alabaster Box. It noted the aggressive promotion and marketing he has engaged in to push his song and called on him to cease all that and to take down the song from digital platforms, including YouTube, where the rapper has released a music video.
The letter also demanded that Medikal provide a ‘detailed account of all revenue’ he has accrued from the ‘promotion, distribution, performance, and marketing of the infringing song’. Failure to heed the demands will lead to a lawsuit which will demand, among other things, damages for copyright infringement and costs.
Medikal has yet to respond to the lawsuit, and as of April 10, two days after being served, continues to share and promote the song.
This legal clash comes a year after a similar copyright infringement case involving Team Eternity, following the release of their monster hit ‘Defe Defe’, which sampled the older, similar hit of the same name by Hallelujah Voices.
