NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that Nigerian singer Okafor Uchenna Victor, popularly known as Mr Real, has voiced his frustration over the growing level of intellectual property theft in the country’s music industry.
The “Legbegbe” hitmaker lamented that Afrobeats has lost its originality, noting that many artists now recycle melodies and ideas instead of creating fresh sounds.
Mr Real pointed out that upcoming artists suffer the most from intellectual property theft, as they often lack the platform and influence to seek justice or raise awareness about their plight.
He further alleged that even some established acts, including Blackface — who has consistently spoken against song theft — have also been guilty of using other artists’ creative works without proper authorization.
In a recent interview with Hip TV, Mr Real addressed claims that Rema may have stolen Omah Lay’s intellectual property, saying such incidents are common in the Nigerian music industry.
He said, “Blackface is always complaining that people stole his songs. There’s no originality in Afrobeats — even Rema could steal Omah Lay’s song. If you’re not smart, someone else will take your idea and run with it.
“Song theft happens mostly between upcoming and top artists, but the upcoming ones don’t have fans to defend them. There’s really no original song in Afrobeats. Even those shouting that their songs were stolen have copied others before,” he added in Pidgin English.