When Sampling Gets Complicated: Darkoo vs. Mr. P

Darkoo further shared that, "[Mr. P] told me not to speak to or clear with his brothers Paul and Jude (who, by the way, have been incredibly helpful in resolving issues). He claimed they would bring 'unnecessary problems' for me."

Darkoo concluded her post by reiterating that she had the clearance, the contracts and the paperwork from P Square. "I went above and beyond to make sure their rights were respected and that this was handled correctly with the right people, ensuring that all contributions were covered."

Initial reactions from fans supported Darkoo, especially since she explained that she had secured full rights before the public fallout. Previously, she has sampled Brick and Lace's international hit"Love is Wicked" on her summer smash hit"Favourite Girl," whose remix also featured Rema. With that song, Darkoo demonstrated an understanding of the importance of rightfully acquiring intellectual property.

"Based on the current dynamic of the entity, P-SQUARE, our client (Mr. P) was adamant that the song should be cleared through the proper channel to avoid any misleading assumptions on her part and to avert any IP landmines,"ONE Management stated.

The talent agency also stated that Darkoo remained unresponsive to their communications despite receiving clarification and their CEO's contact details through Mr. P. Her team only made contact two days before the video's YouTube release.

Ultimately,the issue was resolved through a comprehensive agreement signed by all involved parties at Mr. P's insistence. Upon finalizing the document, they requested the video be reinstated on the sharing platform.

Efeturi Ojonah, an entertainment lawyer based in Lagos, provided additional context on the situation to OkayAfrica. "The process of rightfully acquiring a sample is to seek a license from the song owner or the label — whoever has the right at the particular time. In this instance, you want to be careful [about passing judgment on who is right or wrong] because you are limited to the information in the public space."

He explores the possibility that neither Mr. P nor Rudeboy might have been the right persons to seek the license from. "They were both signed to a label, and the nature of that contract determines the owners of the publishing rights," Ojonah explains. "While P-Square may be considered the artists behind the song, they might not hold the publishing rights if they have assigned those rights to a third party. That appears to be what Mr. P was conveying. It's not that she didn't seek clearance; rather, she sought it from the wrong entity."

"According to Mr. P, the only thing that changed after the song was taken down was the parties involved. If that's the case, then he would have been right to request its removal in the first place," Ojonah explained further.

However, he believes there was a personal element to the situation. He suggests that Darkoo got caught in the conflict between the brothers and that their discord prevented proper guidance about handling the rights to the song. "If you ask what was the proper thing to do, [Darkoo] had done the proper thing. Which is, you seek out the rights holders of the song, which is what she did, but unfortunately, it appears that she dealt with the wrong entity, considering the brothers are separated."