Namibian singer Harry Tjipueja, popularly known as Waters, has landed in hot water after allegedly failing to pay producer DJ KBoz for work done on his 2021 album.
KBoz says Waters approached him with a proposal to collaborate on the album, titled ‘Grey’, splitting the profit after composing the entire album.
“He said we should do it together and share whatever we make. I agreed. At first, I wanted to see how the process goes before signing a contract.
“We worked, and I liked everything – the album was done. We even registered it together at the Namibian Society of Composers and Authors of Music (Nascam),” KBoz says.
He says he reached out to Waters for the outstanding payment nearly six years later, which Waters promised to settle.
“I gave him two options: Pay me every time you perform songs from the album or buy me out. He said he would prepare a contract. I kept following up, but he always had excuses, like school or being busy.
“At one point, he stopped responding. Then I discovered I was blocked everywhere. I tried calling from another number, and he blocked that too. So, I made an executive decision to sell my shares. This is rubbish and disrespectful,” KBoz says.
He says selling the rights to the songs means the majority of the copyright on the album now belongs to someone else.
“This means that he can’t remake the songs or perform them without paying a certain percentage to the one who owns most of the rights right now.”
KBoz says the buyer’s information and the amount he sold the shares for are confidential.
“If I have to estimate, he [Waters] probably only has 20% rights to the album,” he says.
Waters last week declined to comment, saying he needed to consult his lawyer first.
‘Grey’ is a notable Namibian Afrobeat/R&B project released in late 2021.
Waters won the Pan-African Artist of the Year award in 2023, and has garnered nominations at the Africa Arts Entertainment Awards, with hits like ‘Quiz Zio’ and ‘Konganda’, redefining the country’s modern music scene.
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