Ghana: Black Sherif facing legal action for breach of contract

The news arrives weeks after Owusu, who heads Wayne Chavis Consult, accused the singer of signing with US distribution company and record label EMPIRE without his approval. The allegation was first made in February by Kumasi-based broadcaster DJ Slim, who accused the musician of ingratitude after he had abandoned a seven-bedroom house, a car and other items that Owusu made available to him for his personal use during their working relationship.

Owusu’s decision to take Black Sherif to court is reported to have been motivated by a move by the artist to terminate his business contract with the talent manager.

“Our instructions are that by an agreement dated 18 August 2021 ... our client appointed you as his manager,” a letter from Black Sherif’s solicitors, Kuenyenia & Nutsukpui, reads. “We have our client’s instruction to confirm our client's acceptance of the termination of the agreement following discussions between you and our client.”

According to a writ of summons dated 11 April and seen by Music In Africa, Owusu is seeking an injunction from an Accra High Court to prevent the 20-year-old musician from playing any shows until the case is resolved. It also seeks the preservation of streaming funds and other revenues.

Owusu wants “an order for the appointment of a receiver to receive any and all funds that may accrue to the defendant/respondent from the use and exploitation of his music and image” and “any further order that this court may deem fit.”

The court is expected to hear the case on 9 May and Black Sherif has eight days to respond to the allegation. 

The musician’s legal woes arrive as he enjoys significant local and international success, notably for hits like ‘First Sermon’ and ‘Second Sermon’, which became the two fastest songs to reach 1 million streams on Boomplay in 2021. In December, he released a remix of ‘Second Sermon’ featuring Afrobeats giant Burna Boy to rave reviews.

Black Sherif is also behind ‘Kwaku the Traveller’, which has amassed more than 2.4 million streams on YouTube alone and is among the most shazamed songs in the world. At the recently held 3Music Awards in Accra, Black Sherif won the Hiplife/Hip Hop Act of the Year, Breakthrough Act of the Year, Hip Hop Song of the Year and Song of the Year awards.