Following the release of Wendy Shay’s song « Africa Money, » fans quickly noted its similarity in title and content to Barima Sidney’s 2009 track of the same name.
This led to a social media uproar, with netizens urging Barima Sidney to take legal action against Wendy Shay for alleged copyright infringement.
However, Barima Sidney has chosen not to pursue any legal action against Wendy Shay. In a recent interview on Cape Coast-based Property FM, Sidney explained his decision, emphasizing that he does not want to engage in actions that would create disunity.
“I’ve never commented on this Wendy Shay sampling of ‘Africa Money’ issue because I don’t see that my sister sampled my song,” he said. Sidney dismissed attempts by bloggers to create confusion, stating, “She has done her song and I’m not the inventor of the word ‘Africa’ or ‘money.’ So if I’ve done ‘Africa Money’ and she has also done ‘Africa Money,’ it’s all good. I didn’t have any problem with it.”
Sidney further clarified that the words used in songs are not created by the artists themselves and have been in existence for a long time. “There are no new words to be used, so we are all using the same words that have existed for long. Whatever I say today, someone might have said it already,” he added.
He expressed his frustration with bloggers who tried to create a conflict between him and Wendy Shay, saying, “My only problem was when bloggers started creating stories trying to pitch me against her to make her respond to spark something.”
Sidney concluded, “I will never stand anywhere to say that Wendy Shay has sampled my song because of the word ‘Africa.’ I’m not the one who brought it and the word ‘money.’ So if someone puts these two words together to create something, there’s nothing wrong.”
In summary, Barima Sidney has made it clear that he does not see any issue with Wendy Shay’s use of the title « Africa Money » and has no intention of pursuing legal action against her. He emphasized the importance of unity and dismissed the bloggers’ attempts to create controversy.
Pulse
