Blackface the former member of Plantashun Boiz has opened on the issue surrounding the song African Queen sang by fellow Plantashun Boiz member and friend Tuface Idibia as he claimed that both of them wrote the song African Queen back then and he is yet to be credited for his effort financially.
“You know how the industry is then it was just evolving, there was a time that if someone signs you up to his record label and they find out you have a song that somebody else wrote for you, they won’t give you that credit because they will feel that they are promoting the person as against the person who is not on their record label
But then a writer is supposed to have his credit regardless of him being on your label or not and that did not happen the first time”.
When asked if the fact that his efforts were not recognised by the record label got him upset, he responded “Uhn, not really very upset because i know what the international law says, you being a Writer, if they omit you, they know that the law still stands internationally”
he mentioned the fact the song ‘African Queen’ was redone by a Jamaican artiste which he wasn’t he even aware of and for the fact that he co-wrote African Queen he was meant to be aware of that intention before it was done and he’s been trying to find answers to it which he says he is yet to get.
On the issue getting credit for the song African Queen, he said “No I have credit, like now am a writer, now is all like am a writer, I have 50 per cent of the publishing, which I didn’t used to have before, so it’s a different ball game right now”
Asked if he got any backdated payment on the song as the song was a major hit in the Face 2 Face album released in 2004 by 2face Idibia.
Blackface responded that he hasn’t gotten any backdated payment for the song.
“I still haven’t still haven’t because they have to backdate it they have to check the revenues of the music, what it has generated, what is due to the co-writer and all that, all those things are just still hanging but I still have one or two things that I am doing to find out what the issue behind all these stuffs are”
African Queen became a major hit selling up to 2 million copies initially in Nigeria, but quickly spreading through western and southern Africa, and eventually making an impact in Europe as well, going as far America where it was used a soundtrack for 2006 comedy movie ‘Phat Girlz’ written and directed by Nnegest Likké starring Mo’Nique.