Simi and Yemi Alade came under criticism from Sir. Victor Uwaifo and Kaha respectively for not seeking permission on their songs.
He insisted that the acceptable move would have involved both artistes crediting him since the track 'originally belongs' to him. The legend stated this in an interview published by Vanguard News yesterday, November 11, 2017.
Uwaifo however preferred to let things fly stating that he will rather not take them to court. Wasn't he nice?
“They didn’t contact me before doing a remix of Joromi; but I’m like a father to them so I can’t begin to drag them to court, so let them make a living out of it, but at the same time it’s piracy," he said.
The 76 years old music legend had a sense of pride in him while describing the impact of his song in pop culture. He related the fact that there have been various versions of the song to its ability to evolve.
“I’ve heard it too many times on different occasions; it shows the quality of the music that has come a long way. As far as I’m concerned I’ve lived five lives (from one generation to the other), so if they want to appreciate and still appreciate me, it shows the quality of the music.
"It’s one thing to be an artiste and it’s another thing to stay on the scene for a long time; so I will not discourage artistes trying to remix or do another rendition of Joromi, but rather encourage them to give credit to the composer if they do."
It had been a while since Nigerian music heads heard of R&B singer Kaha but not for so long. The songster got in the news and out of hibernation mode following an accusation that Afropop star Yemi Alade remixed his 'Heart robber' track without getting an approval.
He mentioned this in an Instagram comment posted earlier today.
The rapid incidents is likely going to raise a discussion concerning nominal rights of songs that have enjoyed attention for a long period.
Music critics may have to saddle the responsibility of explaining if it is actually a copyright infringement when an artiste records a song and names it after an existing one even if the lyrical content and melody of the subjects differ.