Nigerian Afrobeats star D’banj has disclosed that his legal team has reached out to iconic American singer Marc Anthony over the unauthorized sampling of his hit song Oliver Twist.
Marc Anthony sampled the 2012 track in the title song of his 2024 album, Muevense.
Speaking in a recent interview with Adesope Live, D’banj said he was initially flattered by the gesture but had to involve his legal team to address the matter professionally, noting the importance of handling the business side of music properly.
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.”
