Afrobeats star Mr Eazi accuses Bad Bunny of appropriating an African artist’s song without credit
When an artist wants to include a portion of another artist’s song in their own, they have to get permission from both the publisher of the song’s original composition — which covers the songwriting and production — as well as the record label that released it.
Mr Eazi says emPawa Africa first notified Bad Bunny and Rimas Music of their request for credit last May, after the album dropped, but said they have been met with a “general lack of enthusiasm to settle” since.
Rimas Music denied the accusation, saying, “It is entirely untrue that we have been unresponsive.”
emPawa, which is registered as the publisher of the Empty My Pocket composition, said that beyond initial call and email exchanges, they never came to an agreement with Rimas Music to use the track. Now, Mr Eazi said he has taken action to halt monetary publishing payouts of Enséñame a Bailar until the dispute is cleared up.
emPawa is demanding that Joeboy and Dëra, the producer on Empty My Pocket, be credited as songwriter and producer on Enséñame a Bailar, and Joeboy listed as a feature artist. The label is also asking that publishing revenue from the song be fairly negotiated. Mr Eazi told Semafor that Bad Bunny’s team was willing to give the Nigerian artist a 5% publishing split, but emPawa doesn’t support those terms.
Mr Eazi is known for pioneering Banku music, a sound that fits under the broader umbrella of Afrobeats, a genre that has become increasingly influential around the world in the last decade. He has performed at Coachella, and was featured on an album curated by Beyoncé in 2020.
In 2019, he collaborated with Bad Bunny and Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin on their joint album Oasis.