Veteran Ghanaian singing group Alabaster Box has sued rapper Samuel Adu Frimpong, aka Medikal, over copyright infringement in relation to their timeless classic, ‘Akwaaba.’
In a suit dated April 15th, 2025, and filed at the High Court in Accra, Alabaster Box accuses the rapper of copyright infringement in utilizing portions of their work in the first ten seconds of his new song, ‘Welcome to Africa.’
The veteran group asserts that the move infringes on their copyright and tarnishes their brand that they painstakingly built over decades by their song being associated with Medikal’s ‘morally repugnant’ song.
The group seeks Ghc 10 million cedis in general damages for copyright infringement, Ghc 5 million cedis in exemplary damages for intentional infringement and ‘brand association with vulgarity’, and costs, including legal fees.
Medikal has been given eight days to respond to the suit.
On April 8, 2015, lawyers for Alabaster Box sent a cease and desist letter to Medikal to notify him of his copyright infringement.
The letter accused Medikal of a ‘deliberate and concerted attempt’ to unfairly exploit the intellectual property of Alabaster Box by using a derivation of their work in the first ten seconds of ‘Welcome to Africa’. The letter called on Meidkal to take down the song from YouTube and all digital platforms and inform Alabaster Box about details of revenue accrued from the song so far. He was warned that failure to do so will trigger a lawsuit that will demand damages.
As we noted in our report, Medikal refused to take down the song at the time. Alabaster Box notes in their lawsuit that the musician later edited the song on YouTube to take out the offending part, which their lawyers noted as an admission of guilt. Nevertheless, the group avers Medikal left the song up on all streaming platforms and continued to infringe on their copyright.
