Ghanaian music producer, Kwame Mickey has announced the resolution of the dispute between his company and Team Eternity Ghana over the use of ‘Defe Defe’ lyrics in their new song.
A statement from Kwame Mickey’s OFM company confirmed that “the issue regarding Team Eternity Ghana’s use of a portion of the existing song titled ‘Defe Defe’ in their new song has been resolved amicably.” It was also stated that “the parties have entered into a License Agreement, granting Team Eternity Ghana the non-exclusive right to use the words derived from the existing song in their new song.”
This development comes after Kwame Mickey, the executive producer for Hallelujah Voices’ ‘Defe Defe’, previously accused Team Eternity Ghana of copyright infringement.
This led to him seeking action against the unauthorized use of the ‘defe defe’ line in their new hit song. The situation sparked discussions on social media, with some arguing that ‘Defe Defe’ is not a unique expression created by Hallelujah Voices and therefore cannot be claimed solely by them.
Meanwhile, others pointed out the similarities in the lyrics of the two songs. While the rhythmic patterns and melodic phrases of the two lines are structurally different, Kwame Mickey emphasized the similarities in the lyrical content. ‘Defe Defe’ in Twi is an adverb used to describe the severity of an unpleasant situation and has synonyms such as ‘pasa pasa’ and ‘basa basa’.
The original ‘Defe Defe’ song was performed by Hallelujah Voices and released in 2004, with lyrics written by Osuani Afrifa and executive production by Kwame Mickey for Kaakyire Music Productions.
Story by Obaapa Janee
