Nigerian Afrobeats star D’banj has announced that his legal team is pursuing action against legendary American singer Marc Anthony for allegedly sampling his hit song ‘Oliver Twist’ without obtaining prior approval.

Marc Anthony reportedly sampled D’banj’s 2012 hit ‘Oliver Twist’ in the eponymous lead track of his 2024 album, ‘Muevense’.

During a recent conversation with Adesope Live, D’banj admitted that while he was initially pleased by the music legend’s decision to sample his work, he felt compelled to involve his legal team due to the business aspects of the music industry.

D’banj stated, “Marc Anthony sampling my song was one of my greatest highlights last year. He released an album last year and the title of the album and the track one was a sample of my song ‘Oliver Twist.’ I listened to it and it was just like a Latin version of ‘Oliver Twist.’ At first, I was happy because of who he is, but my legal team and the business side of it…. He didn’t reach out to me before sampling it. The song wasn’t cleared and he put it out officially, lead single and title of the album. I don hammer…God works in mysterious ways. I’m so happy those are the advantages of the digital era. The good thing about it is that it is already released. My legal people are handling it and I know that they are going high but deep down I still admire Marc Anthony. We have to clear it.”