29th January 2023

By Faith Ajayi

Controversial singer and songwriter, Augustine Ahmedu, aka Blackface, has, over the years, accused other artistes of stealing his songs. The first and most high profile case was that between him and his former group mate and friend, Innocent Idibia, aka 2Baba. He had accused 2Baba of ‘stealing’ his song, African Queen, and even though the latter reportedly gave him some financial compensation, the feud between them has lingered for many years.

However, the latest artistes on Blackface’s radar include rave-of-the-moment, Asake, and pop star, Wizkid.

In an interview with Sunday Scoop, he said, “The time I released the songs (that were allegedly stolen) are online. I don’t want to trend; I just want people to stop touching my music without my permission. I am begging them to stop. I cannot be competing with myself. Many of them plan shows, and they intentionally don’t invite me. They should just give me the credit I deserve.”

The singer also stated that he was still giving the people involved some time before escalating the matter. He said, “We have to improve on what we do to get better. Some members of the public don’t take me seriously because they are not the ones that copy my songs. The ones who copy my songs are not finding it funny. I have not taken the cases to court because I’m still giving them benefit of the doubt for them to retrace their steps. If they don’t do so, I will instruct my lawyer to commence legal action against them.”

The singer added that originality and respect were important qualities for any artist to have in order to succeed.