Copyright Infringement: Shallipopi Clears The Air On “ObaPluto”

Shallipopi, a well-known Nigerian musician, recently shared the copyright issues he encountered with his chart-topping song ‘Obapluto’ In July, Shallipopi was accused of copyright infringement for sampling the classic tune ‘Ovonramwen n’ Ogbaisi’ by the veteran singer Pa Monday Edo Igbinidu in his single, which surprisingly rose to critical acclaim. As a result, Pa Monday Edo filed a lawsuit against Shallipopi for a staggering 200 million naira.

During an interview with the ‘Zero Condition’ podcast, Shallipopi provided insight into the circumstances that led to the copyright issue. He suggested that many artists from Benin City often disregard their cultural heritage and instead draw inspiration from various Nigerian tribes and cultures in their music. However, his music is dedicated solely to the indigenous people of Edo/Benin, and he prefers not to be associated with or compared to other artists who do not share the same passion for the culture.

He said,

“You know artists that come from Benin city dey always run. It’s either dey use other tribes to sing their music or they never come back to Benin again. I know wan be that artist wey be like say I kon forget where I for come”.

Pluto Presido expressed his surprise at discovering that the idea used in his song had been previously used. He also admitted that he was unaware of copyright laws and that his only intention was to celebrate his culture. To resolve any issues or disputes that may have arisen between Shallipopi and Pa Monday Edo Igbinidu regarding the sampling of the track, the founder of Plutomania decided to have Pa Monday appear in the music video for ObaPluto, which is a positive indication that both parties have amicably resolved any prior issues.

“That’s how I dropped the song and began to see ‘things on things’. ‘My mother said, do you know this song that you used? Don’t you know the person is alive?!’. We had to do everything legally. I said okay, he should be in the video”.

Shallipopi speaks about the copyright issues he had with ObaPluto. pic.twitter.com/Mam3ee3985

— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) November 21, 2023