My song 'Here to Stay' was sampled by Burna Boy for his 'Common Person' song, but who am I to talk? - Afriyie

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Ghanaian singer and former member of the defunct Ghanaian music group Wutah, Afiyie, has accused Nigeria's Burna Boy of sampling his song 'Here to Stay' without giving him due credit.

Afriyie Wutah

Speaking on Accra 100.5 FM's mid-morning show Ayekoo Ayekoo, Thursday, February 23, 2023, the singer said although he was aware of Burna Boy sampling his song there is nothing much he can do.

“I am aware he is sampling my song. In fact, it was Jack who called me and sent a sample of the song to me.

“This was like two to three months ago, and after we played at +233, he asked me if I knew if he (Burna Boy) had sampled my song again, and I said yes," he said.

According to Afiyie, while some people will say it’s creativity, others are calling it theft because the self-acclaimed Giant of Africa made a few changes.

“Some people are saying it's creativity, while others are saying it's theft. He also somehow changed the key, and he didn't sing like me, but the sax and the flow...For some of my melodies, he played the guitar,” he added.

Afiyie also stated that he wasn’t after Burna Boy in any way and is not asking for anything, however, he believes that if someone is using his template, they should at least give credit where credit is due.

“I am not after him in any way. I am not asking for anything, but I feel if someone is using our template, they should let us know that at least this is where I am tapping from and give you your credit. It's just nice,” he added.

He also recalled when Flavour sampled his "Kotosa" song after the group had split up, but no one mentioned it.

"Flavour did the same thing to ‘Kotosa’ and nobody spoke about it because then the group had fallen apart. As for him, he even used my lyrics, and nobody said anything about it," he said.

"For how long will this go on?" Afriyie questioned.

Romeo wondered why he would not confront Burna about the allegation.

Afriyie's response was "the fire [controversy] that would follow would be massive. I don't want any trouble." He added that all he wants is for people to notice what has happened for themselves and "that's enough."

Afriyie also admitted it is possible two songs would bear similarities without the individual musicians hearing their respective songs beforehand. He contended, however, that some similarities are too detailed to be sheer coincidences.

Source-Pulse Gh