YouTube has pulled down Zimdancehall star Jah Signal’s Sweetie video over a copyright violation claim made by gospel musician Charles Charamba.
The video which led to the Zimdancehall chanter’s rise to fame in 2018 had gained over six million views on YouTube.
The Stonyeni hit maker interpolated Charamba’s “Kana Vanhu Vangu”.
Jah Signal did not receive approval from Charamba when he reached out for consent, yet proceeded to record the song anyway.
Back in 2018, after the release of “Sweetie,” Charamba expressed in an interview that he found the song blasphemous as it conflicted with his moral beliefs.
“I never spoke to him after release. They texted me seeking consent and I advised them not to go ahead after sampling the lyrics. I discouraged them from doing so, not just on the basis that it was my melody but mostly because I sensed danger. To me the rendition is not ordinary joke or parody but blasphemy,” he said.
However, this is not the first time an artist has sampled the Charamba’s songs and more copyright claims might be following.