I’m taking legal action against Marc Anthony for sampling ‘Oliver Twist’ – D’banj

Nigerian Afrobeats star D’banj has revealed that his legal team has approached legendary American singer Marc Anthony for sampling his hit song ‘Oliver Twist’ without approval.

Marc Antony sampled D’banj’s 2012 hit ‘Oliver Twist’ in the lead and eponymous track of his 2024 album, ‘Muevense’.

Reacting during a recent conversation with Adesope Live, D’banj admitted that initially, he was happy that the music legend sampled his work but was forced to let his legal team step in due to the business side of music.

He said, “Marc Anthony sampling my song was one of my greatest highlights last year. He released an album last year and the title of the album and the track one was a sample of my song ‘Oliver Twist.’ I listened to it and it was just like a Latin version of ‘Oliver Twist.’

“At first, I was happy because of who he is, but my legal team and the business side of it…. He didn’t reach out to me before sampling it. The song wasn’t cleared and he put it out officially, lead single and title of the album. I don hammer…God works in mysterious ways. I’m so happy those are the advantages of the digital era. The good thing about it is that it is already released. My legal people are handling it and I know that they are going high but deep down I still admire Marc Anthony. We have to clear it.”

I’m taking legal action against Marc Anthony for sampling ‘Oliver Twist’ – D’banj