Controversial chanter Platinum Prince did not only release an x-rated video but copied the whole song from Jamaican Alkaline and translated it into Shona, it has emerged.
By Problem Masau
While Platinum Prince decided to title his track, Time, The Standard Style can confirm that the rising singer took Alkaline’s song Things Take Time released in 2014 word-for-word, only translating the Jamaican patois into Shona.
He even copied the video concept where both singers are seen smoking on the opening line before calling the girl to come and have “fun” in the bedroom.
While refusing to comment on the breach of copyrights, the acerbic singer acknowledged that he “borrowed” the concept from the Jamaican artist.
“I did not talk to him. I was trying to be creative and I adopted one or two things from the singer. He is my inspiration,” he said.
He said he was ignorant of the consequences of taking another person’s work without his or her consent.
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The musician is not new to controversy. In August this year he released a song that chides President Robert Mugabe for his failure to address the socio-economic ills bedevilling the country.
In the song, which is rich in satire, the musician challenges the 91-year-old strongman to visit the populous Chitungwiza town and come face-to-face with the decay of social service infrastructure.
The chanter, in his well-arranged rhythm, also reminded Mugabe that the economy was not performing well, although he had been in charge for 35 years.
In some of the lyrics he asked which bar the president drinks from so that he can join him for some drinks since he was broke.
In 2014, Platinum Prince released a song that was again filled with controversial lyrics which were believed to be linked to Satanism.
Artistes in Zimbabwe have proven to be ignorant on the laws of copyrights. Copyright is the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic or musical material.
Be it a painting, a photograph, a poem or a novel, if you created it, you own it and it’s the copyright law itself that assures that ownership. The ownership that copyright law grants comes with several rights that the owner exclusively has. Those rights include the right to reproduce the work.
However, there are many cases where artistes in the country have infringed on other people’s work, either by design or default.
Jah Prayzah admitted to stealing a song called Samini by a Ghanaian pop star — Emmanuel Samini.
Not only did Jah Prayzah use some interpolations, but he copied and pasted both the melody and the beat while replacing some of the original lyrics with Shona words.
