Popular Ghanaian Entertainment critic Arnold Asamoah Baidoo has taken a swipe at rapper and businessman Criss Waddle for his recent social media comments regarding the ongoing legal battle between gospel group Alabaster Box and Medikal.
During a panel discussion on UTV’s United Showbiz on Saturday, April 19, 2024, Arnold did not mince words as he described Criss Waddle’s remarks as unnecessary and immature.
“Criss Waddle’s tweets about Alabaster Box’s GH₵15 million lawsuit against Medikal make no sense,” Arnold fired.
He further criticized Waddle for choosing to mock the gospel group on social media instead of guiding Medikal to address the issue appropriately.
“Criss should have acted maturely by calling Medikal to order and allowing him to acknowledge the fact that he was wrong by sampling some part of their songs, rather than writing that rubbish on Twitter,” he said.
Arnold described the rapper’s actions as “Nsem Hunu,” stressing that “there was no sense in what he wrote if that is his actual Twitter page.”
He also questioned whether Criss Waddle, as a creative himself, would be pleased if his work was used without permission.
“Would you be happy if same was done to you, especially as a creative or an entertainment person you are?” Arnold asked.
Arnold emphasized that every artiste’s music is their intellectual property, and that should be respected regardless of the genre.
“Their rights have been infringed upon whether they are gospel singers or whatever, so don’t sit in the comfort of your home and write anything you want, it’s nonsense. You need to grow because you are old,” he said angrily.
“Instead of you to tell Medikal to order so you know what you guys can do or the way forward, you are there Twitting rubbish,” he added.
Arnold also highlighted how respectfully Alabaster Box initially handled the issue when they realized a portion of their song had been sampled.
The controversy stems from a lawsuit filed by gospel music group Alabaster Box against Medikal for allegedly using portions of their song Akwaaba in his recently released track Welcome to Africa without permission. The group is demanding GH₵10 million in general damages for copyright infringement, citing that Medikal failed to fully take down the content from various digital platforms.
Criss Waddle, reacting on X (formerly Twitter) on April 17, appeared to ridicule the group, suggesting their legal action was financially motivated.
“Life is not easy. To see Christian musicians sue their son’s age mate for money still surprises me. I wonder what you’d have done were you not god-fearing,” he tweeted.
When a user challenged him by pointing out the legal basis of the issue, Waddle responded, “If they were [secular] musicians, I will understand. But Gospel? You ask to be paid but to ask for 15 million cedis? How much does a whole album generate? If you want to be wicked don’t add Christianity to your identity.”