This is a long standing conflict and we saw fruits of it again yesterday when it came to the notice of some that the video of Realm Squad’s recent collaboration with the Fluri Boyz has been taken down from YouTube as a result of claims of copyright violation tabled by LOLHIPHOP Records - a label said to be owned by Wax Dey.
To the best of my knowledge, Realm Squad was signed by the said record label and walked out of their contract without fulfilling their contractual agreement and since then, their career advancement has been halted at every corner. The record label has made public their intention to hold the duo accountable for the breach of contract and almost two years after the severed relationship, LOLHIPHOP is keeping to its promise.
Public opinion has it that it is an act of ‘wickedness’ on the part of Wax Dey - deciding to basically halt the careers of young talents in an industry that needs pioneers to take a more supportive role. As a big brother in the industry, people expect Wax to forgive the young lads and let them go.
I don’t know Wax Dey personally to know how he deals with such things. I also do not know the part of this struggle which we do not see. We do not know the nature of the exchanges between the artists and the label. One thing I can assume for fact is that the contract which the musical duo signed is legit and by that I mean registered and recognized by law - else I don’t think it we would have been seeing it being used so effectively.
What I can conclude for the visible part of the course of this dispute is that Realm Squad is not taking this seriously. It seems like they think this can just go away with the support of public opinion but I hope this recent takedown can make them sit down and address this situation for good.
I know many young lads, when presented with career advancement opportunities, rush in without due consideration of the engagements they are making. I for one I have been presented with two record deals but I am yet to sign one. Signing a record deal entails a lot of compromises on the part of the artist and it is very difficult to get exactly what you want. Creative control is one of those things that I believe are hard to reach a compromise on. Most of the times, the financing does not add up as expected.
I have done a good amount of research on record deals and I have written two articles here on Poise to share what I know. I have also offered my services for free to young lads who want to go into deals. I am pretty good at reading between the lines and identifying unforeseen circumstances.
My advice to the Realm boys is that they need to stop running away from their problem and face it head first. They need to find a mediator they can trust and if possible a lawyer - not to fight the contract but to negotiate their way out of it. They need to meet with Wax Dey and find a solution - bearing in mind that they cannot have everything their way.
I have had to deal with people of Wax Dey’s calibre and I know how much ego gets in the way. I am not sure the Realm boys are lacking of ego either. We all love to see a good fight between egos especially when it doesn’t involve us directly but trust me ego wars hardly produce positive results. One person is going to have to let that ego be bruised to get off and from where I stand, I see that the Realm boys are going to have to take a cut this time.
The public rarely ever has any say in Cameroon because we are in an industry where the public has little control over the finances of the actors. Sad but true though - na money di talk. I don’t know anybody on social media that has negative things to say about Wax Dey who also has any influence over the money he makes so calling him names and throwing rotten tomatoes at him only makes him more rigid - putting him in a ‘I will show you who I am’ mode.
I am writing this for the artists to tell them to find a solution and set themselves free but more so for the general public who think they can shame LOLHIPHOP into releasing the artists from their contractual agreements. I suggest that we stay out of it and let them work it out internally because public opinion is only going to swell egos and make things worse for the artists. I actually think those guys are really talented and we should not be deprived of their music.
- Tino Foy