Mantse sues Obrafour, Hammer over Oye Ohene’s ‘Killer cut’ amid Drake saga

When Obrafour sued Canadian musician Drake for allegedly borrowing this line in a song without permission, the phrase gained a lot of attention. Mantse Aryeequaye claims in his lawsuit that Obrafour falsely claimed ownership of the term and obtained a copyright for it in the US in September 2022.

"His artistic work, in the form of a spoken word titled "Killer Cut," was used on the song "Oye Ohene" by the first defendant (Obrafour) with permission, according to Ezoic Mentese. However, there was no transfer of rights or authorization for the first defendant to claim ownership of the work or receive payment for its future use in any way.

The song recorded by the defendants is not the same as the one that featured the "Killer Cut," which was utilized by the first defendant in his song. It was recorded independently and then added to the song of the first defendant by the second defendant (Hammer), primarily to make it better.

Mantse boldly asserted that he had contacted Obrafour and Hammer to set up a meeting after learning of Drake's request to use a portion of the "Oye Ohene" song. Sadly, none of his pleas were granted, therefore his efforts were in vain.

Subsequently, he found out that Obrafour had actually registered the tune in the US, with the exact phrase that Mantse owned. This was perceived as an obvious attempt to pilfer Mantse's creative works and take use of his labors only.

Mantse didn't hold back in voicing his disgust at the rapper's behavior, asserting that not only were the rapper's acts malevolent, but they also had the intention of exploiting and diverting the earnings that were legally his.

Among other things, Mantse demanded general damages from Obrafour for stealing his work and deliberately trying to make money out of it while avoiding any efforts to make things right. In addition, he asked for complete reimbursement for any legal fees that may have been avoided had things been handled differently.

Even though the case was filed in July 2023, Mantse disclosed on Facebook that Hammer and Obrafour had been dodging the court's bailiff's services. This simply made him more irate and determined to stand up for what he felt was his.

Background

Rapper Drake from Canada released an album in June 2022 that caused a stir in the music business. The fact that he had sampled one of Obrafour's tracks for his song "Calling My Name" was what grabbed everyone's attention.

The song's distinctive flavor was enhanced by the chant "Killa cut blood!" that was repeated throughout. Remarkably, Mantse Aryeequaye sang this exact line as the opening to the 2003 remix of "Oye Ohene" from the Ntete Pa album.

But nearly a year after the song's release, Obrafour chose to sue Drake in a New York court, which was an unexpected turn of events. Obrafour said that Drake had not gotten permission to sample his song, and he was requesting an astounding $10 million in damages. Additionally, he contended that following the publication of "Calling My Name," Drake and the other defendants had benefited immensely from his efforts.

Unexpectedly, Mantse claimed ownership of the line "Killa cut blood" in Obrafour's "Oye Ohene" remix on Twitter after learning about the lawsuit. He clarified that he had not ceded his rights to the producer of the song, Da' Hammer, or Obrafour. Mantse was adamant Obrafour couldn't claim sole possession of the material, and therefore, shouldn’t be entitled to sole compensation either.