Quand l’oiseau ne connaît pas l’arbre, il ne va pas s’y reposer (Proverbe Douala, Cameroun). – Ne visitez que les bons voisins.
When a bird doesn’t know a tree, it doesn’t rest there (Duala proverb, Cameroon). – Visit only good neighbors.
Proverbe Douala sur la méfiance / Duala Proverb on Distrust
Good advice in general. Speaking of Cameroon, I think they would have every right to be distrustful towards musicians around the world. I read an article mentioning about Cameroonian music and I found out that Missy Elliot plagiarized a duo called Tim & Foty. They also mentioned all the other examples you shared with me like Talla Andre Marie and Zangalewa.
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Oh wow… thank you for the information about Missy Elliot plagiarizing Tim & Foty. I had not paid attention to that.
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No problem. This was new information to me. Here are the songs.
Tim and Foty: Douala by Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muks9QA5zxI
Missy Elliott ft. Method Man and Redman: Dog in Heat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlhIdfcj3mw
Seriously, all they did was slow down the song and add a hip-hop beat to the instrumental. I checked the album credits for Missy Elliott and I didn’t see Tim & Foty there.
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Thanks for the links Ospreyshire. This is indeed new to me. It makes me wonder how to stop this, or rather how to make sure that artists everywhere, even in poor countries (those who do not have the muscle arms like the US) can get due credits for their work. I still don’t know.
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You’re welcome, Dr. Y. This was very new to me. That song was from the same album that had huge hits like “Get Ur Freak On” and “One Minute Man”, and it was certified Platinum in America.
I agree that people across the world need to understand copyrights, trademarks, and royalties. It really saddens me when artists and innovators have their works stolen. I think there should be a union or coalition to make sure these artists get credit and royalties for their work, but that’s just a suggestion. Watching The Lion’s Share made me even more passionate about that issue and that’s saying something.
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