Dancehall musician Donald Chirisa, well-known in music circles as Sniper Storm or The General, is to pay Mutare-based gospel musician Blessing Shumba money over the use of the song Hama without Shumba’s consent.
Sniper lately released a hit single titled Godo, a song which he pinned on the beat from Shumba’s song Hama. The song tells of a prayer with Sniper asking God to help him to deal with jealously and sometimes he includes lyrics from Mufaro Chete, another song by Shumba.
A source who refused to be named said Sniper’s manager Robert Bhamu met Isaac Zinyongo (Shumba’s manager) to negotiate and beg for forgiveness as the former threatened to take legal action. Bhamu and Zinyongo met on April 13 in the capital to discuss the issue.
“Zinyongo and Bhamu met in the capital to discuss the issue. “Shumba wanted to take legal action with the help of Metro Studios who do the marketing and distribution of the album, but after realising this, Sniper thought of an out-of-court settlement. However, Bhamu proposed to pay Shumba a certain amount that is yet to be discussed.
“During the discussion, Bhamu even sought permission to use other beats from Shumba’s gospel songs which Sniper wants to turn into dancehall songs,” said the source. When contacted for comment Zinyongo confirmed the issue, but refused to comment further.
“We are having issues with Sniper over the use of our instrumental song Hama without our consent and since it is clear piracy from fellow musicians we need to talk and iron out why he failed to respect Shumba. “It’s disappointing to hear your song being played in a kombi or some other place before learning the lyrics are by someone else yet the musician never asked for permission.
I can’t tell you whether we are suing him or not because we are still holding talks,” he said. In an interview with Bhamu he also confirmed meeting Zinyongo over the issue.“I can confirm that we met over the issue of Shumba’s song, but we haven’t reached a final agreement.
“I also confirm that we used his song without his consent despite how much we tried to twist it. “In music it’s like a gold or diamond rush. If you hear that diamonds are being found in your neighbourhood before going to the Ministry of Mines to report you start by picking some loot.
“This is what happened here, we failed to approach Shumba for the permission and proceeded to record, but we are really on the wrong side. “This is the reason why we suggested settling it amicably without taking it to the courts,” he said. In an interview, Shumba said he never wanted to push for compensation from Sniper, but his band members pushed him.
“I am a Christian and my duty is to preach the gospel. I only heard about the issue from the other (band) members so whatever comes up is not my concern,” he said. Newsday
“I also confirm that we used his song without his consent despite how much we tried to twist it. “In music it’s like a gold or diamond rush. If you hear that diamonds are being found in your neighbourhood before going to the Ministry of Mines to report you start by picking some loot.
“This is what happened here, we failed to approach Shumba for the permission and proceeded to record, but we are really on the wrong side. “This is the reason why we suggested settling it amicably without taking it to the courts,” he said. In an interview, Shumba said he never wanted to push for compensation from Sniper, but his band members pushed him.
“I am a Christian and my duty is to preach the gospel. I only heard about the issue from the other (band) members so whatever comes up is not my concern,” he said. Newsday
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