Deal sheet
- Status
- UNRESOLVED. CHRISTYB RECORDS WON A TAKEDOWN ON ONE PLATFORM AND KEPT CALLING ITSELF THE EXCLUSIVE PUBLISHER; ON THE TWO PLATFORMS WHERE THE CATALOGUE IS ACTUALLY SOLD, THE CREDITED RIGHTS HOLDER NEVER CHANGED, AND A SECOND CONTESTED ALBUM WENT OUT ANYWAY.
Two companies, a notary and a divided family are making claims over DJ Arafat's posthumous catalogue, and this desk located no court ruling, registry record or contract text settling any of them. ChristyB Records (Christy B) claims a 2014-2019 publishing contract with the artist and acted on it in November 2025 to get "In Memory" removed from YouTube. David Monsoh's Obouo Music is the sole credited rights holder on both posthumous albums on Apple Music and Deezer, both checked directly 3 November 2026, and released a second album, "Unique," on 8 May 2026 while the first dispute over "In Memory" remained open per the documents this desk could locate. DJ Arafat's notary, Me Athanase Kouame, and the artist's mother, Tina Glamour, have both publicly opposed release of the material without the family's consent; a second branch of the family, represented by Aurelia Houon, has publicly declined to oppose Monsoh, citing lost SACEM royalty income if no album is released. Christy B separately referred the matter to a specialised financial-crimes court in August 2026, estimating damages above 400 million CFA francs on his own account only.
- Type
- Settlement
- Parties
- ChristyB Records, Obouo Music
- Amount
- XOF No price, royalty rate or licence fee is disclosed anywhere in this record, because no licence, sale or assignment between any of the parties has been identified. The only figure in any source is a damages estimate, not a transaction value: Christy B told Afrik Soir, in an interview published 13 August 2026, that he estimates harm to DJ Arafat's estate at more than 400 million CFA francs. That figure is his own estimate only. No independent valuation, court award, settlement or admission by David Monsoh or Obouo Music corroborates it, and this desk located no published ruling from either the 2025 Abidjan-Plateau case or the 2026 referral to the Pole penal economique et financier that states a figure.
- Rights covered
- Two distinct rights are in play and no document combines them. First, sound-recording (master) rights to unreleased DJ Arafat material, assembled posthumously into two albums. Apple Music's catalogue API and Deezer's album API, both read directly by this desk on 3 November 2026, independently credit "Obouo Music" as the sole copyright holder on both: "In Memory" (9 tracks, Apple copyright line symbol-P 2025 Obouo Music, Deezer label field "Obouo Music") and "Unique" (8 tracks, Apple copyright line symbol-P 2026 Obouo Music, Deezer label field "Obouo Music"). Neither store names ChristyB Records, the DJ Arafat family, or any licensor on either release.
Second, a separate and broader publishing claim: Christy B says he holds DJ Arafat's publishing contracts from 2014 until the artist's death in 2019, and ChristyB Records describes itself, in its own public statements, as his "editeur," his publisher. No document obtained states how, or whether, this publishing claim and Monsoh's master-recording claim on these two specific albums are meant to interact, and none resolves which of them, if either, currently controls the posthumous material.
- Territory
- Cote d'Ivoire. Both posthumous albums are distributed globally through Apple Music and Deezer, confirmed in the Ivorian and United States storefronts checked directly on 3 November 2026, which establishes reach, not a contractual territory. No document reviewed states a territorial scope for any claim made by either side.
- Announced
- No single transaction was ever announced, because none has occurred. Four dated events make up this record. 18 July 2025: Apple's stated release date for the first posthumous album, "In Memory." 20 July 2025: DJ Arafat's notary, Me Athanase Kouame, told Lavenir.ci that legal action against producer David Monsoh would be filed the following Monday over that release. 18 November 2025: ChristyB Records told Lavenir.ci it had obtained the album's removal from YouTube. 8 May 2026: Monsoh's Obouo Music released a second posthumous album, "Unique," on Apple Music and Deezer, while the 2025 legal action remained unresolved on the documents available to this desk.
- Primary document
- Trade press
- Sources
- Lavenir.ci (lavenir.ci), "Au coeur d'un conflit avec David Monsoh : L'album 'In Memory DJ Arafat' retire de YouTube," published 18 November 2025, fetched and read in full by this desk on 3 November 2026. Ivorian trade/entertainment press. Source for ChristyB Records' own account of the YouTube removal, its stated legal basis, and its description of itself as DJ Arafat's exclusive publisher. · Apple iTunes catalogue API, queried directly by this desk 3 November 2026. "In Memory," 9 tracks, copyright line "(P) 2025 Obouo Music," release date 2025-07-18, on sale in the United States storefront at $6.99 and the Ivorian storefront. · Apple iTunes catalogue API, queried directly by this desk 3 November 2026. "Unique," 8 tracks, copyright line "(P) 2026 Obouo Music," release date 2026-05-08. · Deezer album API, queried directly by this desk 3 November 2026. "In Memory," label field "Obouo Music," 9 tracks, release date stated as 2025-10-12, three months later than Apple's stated date for the same release. · Deezer album API, queried directly by this desk 3 November 2026. "Unique," label field "Obouo Music," 8 tracks, release date 2026-05-08, matching Apple's date. · Lavenir.ci, 20 July 2025, fetched and read directly. DJ Arafat's notary Me Athanase Kouame announces legal action to be filed the following Monday against David Monsoh over "In Memory," naming the Tribunal de premiere instance d'Abidjan-Plateau; quotes a letter in which Monsoh wrote that rights holders were not contacted before the release. · Affairage.ci, 8 May 2026, fetched and read directly. Confirms "Unique" went live that day on legal download platforms, finalised through Monsoh's Obouo Music structure. · Pulse.ci, 13 May 2026, fetched and read directly. Reports the family split: a post on DJ Arafat's official page naming notary Me Kouame as proper custodian of the masters pending succession; direct quotes from Tina Glamour opposing the release; direct quotes from Aurelia Houon declining to oppose Monsoh, citing SACEM royalty income. · Afrik Soir, 13 August 2026, fetched and read directly. Christy B's phone interview on the seventh anniversary of DJ Arafat's death: referral to the Pole penal economique et financier, the 400 million CFA franc damages estimate, his direct dispute of Monsoh's "producer" claim, and his naming of Burida and SACEM as the relevant collecting bodies.
Read this before citing: ESTABLISHED FROM DOCUMENTS THIS DESK FETCHED AND READ DIRECTLY, AND FROM TWO CATALOGUE APIS QUERIED DIRECTLY, ON 3 NOVEMBER 2026.
THE PARTIES. Christy B runs ChristyB Records and describes himself, in the company's own public statements, as DJ Arafat's publisher, holding contracts with the artist from 2014 until his death in August 2019. David Monsoh is a producer operating through Obouo Music, which is credited as the sole rights holder on two posthumous DJ Arafat albums. DJ Arafat (Ange Didier Houon) died 12 August 2019 in Abidjan after a motorcycle accident. His notary, Me Athanase Kouame, and at least two branches of his family are also named participants in the dispute, none of them a company and none joined to this record as a deal party for that reason.
THE PLATFORM CHECK, THE CENTRAL FINDING OF THIS RECORD. ChristyB Records told Lavenir.ci on 18 November 2025 that it had obtained removal of "In Memory – DJ Arafat" from YouTube, citing its publisher status and Cote d'Ivoire's intellectual-property code. This desk queried Apple's iTunes catalogue API and Deezer's album API directly on 3 November 2026, a year after that statement. Both still sell the album. Both still credit it solely to "Obouo Music." Apple's United States storefront prices it at $6.99. Neither store names ChristyB Records, the family, or any licensor. A YouTube takedown is a platform content-policy action; it did not change, and on this evidence was never claimed by ChristyB Records to have changed, the copyright credit standing on either commercial store. The two facts, the takedown and the unchanged store credit, are both true and are not in tension with each other once the different nature of each platform action is kept straight; what would be in tension is treating the takedown as evidence of a resolved ownership question, which no document reviewed does explicitly, but which the public framing of the removal invites a reader to assume.
A SECOND ALBUM WENT OUT WHILE THE FIRST DISPUTE WAS OPEN. Lavenir.ci reported 20 July 2025 that legal action against Monsoh over "In Memory" would be filed the following Monday at the Tribunal de premiere instance d'Abidjan-Plateau, and quoted a letter in which Monsoh wrote that he had not contacted rights holders before that release. This desk found no published ruling closing that case. On 8 May 2026, per Affairage.ci and confirmed independently via both catalogue APIs, Monsoh's Obouo Music released a second posthumous album, "Unique," through the same two stores, under the same credit, while the first matter remained open on the documents available to this desk.
A DATE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE TWO STORES, NOTED AND NOT RESOLVED. Apple states "In Memory" was released 18 July 2025. Deezer states 12 October 2025, three months later, for the identical nine-track album under the identical label credit. "Unique" carries the same date, 8 May 2026, on both services. This desk does not know why "In Memory" differs by platform and states the discrepancy rather than resolving it.
THE FAMILY IS NOT UNIFIED. Pulse.ci, 13 May 2026, reported a post on DJ Arafat's official page arguing his masters should sit with notary Me Kouame pending resolution of the succession, and mentioned an unspecified police inquiry without further detail. The same report quoted Tina Glamour, the artist's mother, opposing the "Unique" release directly, and quoted Aurelia Houon, mother of two of DJ Arafat's children, declining to oppose Monsoh because, in her words, no released album means no SACEM or other royalty income for her children. The notary and the mother's position oppose the release; the second branch of the family does not, for a stated financial reason rather than a stated legal one.
A SECOND, LARGER CLAIM IN AUGUST 2026. Afrik Soir reported 13 August 2026, the seventh anniversary of DJ Arafat's death, that Christy B had separately referred the matter to the Pole penal economique et financier, a specialised financial-crimes court distinct from the Abidjan-Plateau court named in 2025 reporting, estimating harm to the estate at more than 400 million CFA francs. In that interview he directly disputed Monsoh's claim to be DJ Arafat's producer at all and said he wants to see Monsoh's contracts. He also named Burida and SACEM as the collecting bodies through which use of the catalogue should be declared, and said two artists, Didi B and Himra, pay royalties for use of DJ Arafat material with his approval as publisher.
NOT ESTABLISHED, AND NOT GUESSED AT IN THIS RECORD.
(1) The text, or the outcome, of the 2025 Abidjan-Plateau legal action or the 2026 Pole penal economique et financier referral. No ruling from either has been published in any source this desk located.
(2) Any contract establishing Christy B's publishing rights, or any production or licensing agreement establishing Monsoh's rights to the specific recordings on "In Memory" or "Unique." Neither has been made public by either party.
(3) The legal form, ownership structure, or registration status of ChristyB Records or Obouo Music. Cote d'Ivoire's company registry (CEPICI/RCCM) offers no free public search this desk could query, and no registry record for either company was located.
(4) Any public response from David Monsoh or Obouo Music to Christy B's claims, to the notary's position, or to Tina Glamour's statements. Pulse.ci's report noted none had been published at the time of its article; this desk found none since.
(5) SACEM's or Burida's own position on who they currently recognise as DJ Arafat's rights holder for collection purposes. Neither body's statement was located.
(6) Why Apple and Deezer disagree on the release date of "In Memory" by three months.
(7) Whether the 400 million CFA franc figure reflects any methodology beyond Christy B's own estimate. No breakdown was published.
WHAT THIS RECORD DOES NOT CLAIM. It does not claim Christy B's publishing contracts are valid, invalid, or cover either posthumous album. It does not claim David Monsoh or Obouo Music lacks the right to release this material; his own letter, as quoted by Lavenir.ci, establishes a failure to notify rights holders before the first release, which is a fact about notice and not a finding about title. It does not state who currently holds master rights to "In Memory" or "Unique." It does not adopt the 400 million CFA franc figure as verified. It does not allege wrongdoing by any named party beyond what that party has said about itself in its own quoted statements.
ChristyB Records told the Ivorian outlet Lavenir.ci on 18 November 2025 that it had just obtained the removal of a DJ Arafat album, “In Memory,” from YouTube. The company, run by a music executive who goes by Christy B, said it was acting as the late star’s exclusive publisher and that the album had been posted without authorisation, in breach of Côte d’Ivoire’s intellectual-property code.
On Apple Music and Deezer, nothing moved. Both stores, checked directly on 3 November 2026, still sell “In Memory” today, both still credit it to a single name, “Obouo Music,” the production structure of David Monsoh, the producer ChristyB Records says released it without permission. Six months after the takedown, Monsoh’s Obouo Music put out a second posthumous Arafat album, “Unique,” through the same two stores, under the same credit.
What follows is what the documents state, and what they do not.
Two claims on one catalogue
Ange Didier Houon, who performed as DJ Arafat, was Ivorian coupé-décalé’s biggest star until his death on 12 August 2019, after a motorcycle accident in Abidjan. Two parties now assert rights over what he left behind, and they are not describing the same right.
Christy B says he holds DJ Arafat’s publishing contracts from 2014 until the artist’s death, and acts through ChristyB Records as, in his own words to Lavenir.ci, “éditeur de DJ Arafat,” his publisher. On that basis the company has moved against releases it did not authorise, including the YouTube takedown of “In Memory.”
David Monsoh is a producer who, on his own account, holds unreleased DJ Arafat recordings and has used them to assemble two posthumous albums. Lavenir.ci reported on 20 July 2025 that DJ Arafat’s notary, Me Athanase Kouamé, had told the outlet that legal action against Monsoh would be filed the following Monday at the Tribunal de première instance d’Abidjan-Plateau, over the release of “In Memory” without the rights holders’ prior authorisation. The outlet said it had seen a letter in which Monsoh wrote, in his own words: “Je reconnais que les ayants-droits n’ont pas été préalablement contactés avant la sortie de ce projet,” acknowledging that the rights holders had not been contacted before the release.
Those are two different legal positions. A publishing right covers songs and compositions. A producer’s claim to masters covers the recordings themselves. No document obtained by this desk states how, or whether, Christy B’s publishing claim and Monsoh’s claim to the master recordings on these two specific albums are meant to interact, and none resolves which of them, if either, controls the posthumous material.
What the stores actually show
Apple’s catalogue API records “In Memory” as a nine-track album, release date 18 July 2025, copyright line “℗ 2025 Obouo Music,” on sale in the Ivorian and United States storefronts alike, priced at $6.99 in the US store when checked on 3 November 2026. Deezer’s album record for the same title gives an identical track count and the same label field, “Obouo Music,” but states a different release date, 12 October 2025, three months after Apple’s. Neither store names Christy B, ChristyB Records, or the DJ Arafat estate anywhere on the product.
“Unique,” the second posthumous album, is an eight-track release that both stores date to 8 May 2026, the date Ivorian outlet Affairage.ci reported it went live “sur l’ensemble des plateformes de téléchargement légal.” Both stores again credit it solely to Obouo Music.
Read against the November 2025 YouTube removal, this is the central finding of this record: a publisher’s successful action against one platform did not alter, and does not appear to have been aimed at, the copyright claim standing on the two platforms that generate the catalogue’s commercial revenue. Apple and Deezer are not YouTube. A takedown of a video upload is a platform content-policy action; it is not evidence of, and here did not produce, any change to the phonogram credit on a commercial release. ChristyB Records’ public statement described the removal as protecting “l’intégrité artistique et juridique des œuvres,” the works’ artistic and legal integrity; it did not claim to have altered who is credited as rights holder on Apple or Deezer, and none of the documents reviewed shows that it did.
The family is not unified either
A third claim sits alongside the other two, and it is not internally consistent. Reporting by Pulse.ci on 13 May 2026, five days after “Unique” went live, described a post on DJ Arafat’s official page arguing that his masters should sit with Me Kouamé, the notary handling his succession, pending resolution of the estate, and referencing an unspecified police inquiry. The same report quoted Tina Glamour, DJ Arafat’s mother, opposing the release directly: “Le patrimoine de mon fils n’appartient qu’à sa famille, sa mère et ses enfants,” his estate belongs only to his family, his mother and his children, and “Laissez les œuvres de mon enfant en paix,” leave my child’s works alone.
Not every relative agrees. The same Pulse.ci report quoted Aurélia Houon, mother of two of DJ Arafat’s children, Lachoina and Ezechiel, telling the outlet Life Mag that she and her children did not want to make trouble for Monsoh: “Mes enfants et moi, nous ne désirons pas créer de problème au producteur David Monsoh.” Her stated reason was practical rather than legal: “S’il n’y a pas d’album qui sort, il n’y aura pas de rémunération au niveau de la SACEM et autre,” without a released album there is no SACEM or other royalty income. That is a family divided over whether blocking a release helps or costs the children DJ Arafat left behind, not a dispute over whether Monsoh holds a valid right. The notary’s position and the mother’s position are, on this record, aligned against the release; the second branch of the family’s position is not.
A second, larger claim in 2026
On the seventh anniversary of DJ Arafat’s death, Christy B told the outlet Afrik Soir that he had separately referred the matter to the Pôle pénal économique et financier, a specialised financial-crimes court distinct from the Abidjan-Plateau court named in the 2025 reporting. He estimated the alleged harm to the estate at more than 400 million CFA francs and, for the first time in any document reviewed here, directly disputed Monsoh’s claim to be DJ Arafat’s producer at all: “David Monsoh se déclare producteur des œuvres de DJ Arafat,” he said, before adding, “Je veux voir les contrats de David Monsoh et je suis obligé de saisir la justice,” he wants to see Monsoh’s contracts and has no choice but to go to court. Christy B also named Burida and SACEM as the collecting bodies through which catalogue uses should be declared, and said two artists, Didi B and Himra, pay royalties for their use of DJ Arafat material with his approval as publisher.
The 400 million franc figure is Christy B’s own estimate, reported from his own statement only. No court document, independent valuation, or admission from Monsoh corroborates it, and this desk found no published ruling from either the 2025 civil case or the 2026 financial-crimes referral.
What this means for artists
A platform takedown is not a rights adjudication. ChristyB Records won a content removal from one platform and continued, in public statements, to describe itself as the exclusive publisher; neither action changed the credited rights holder on the two platforms where the catalogue is actually sold. Anyone relying on a single platform’s compliance action as proof of a settled ownership question is relying on the wrong evidence. Check every platform the work appears on, not the one where a party happened to win.
A producer’s credit on a store page is also not proof of a clean chain of title. Obouo Music’s name on two Apple and Deezer releases establishes that a store accepted Monsoh’s delivery and his copyright claim; it does not establish that he held, bought, or was licensed the underlying masters by anyone with the authority to grant that. Those are different facts, and this dispute is a reminder that a surviving family, a notary, and a self-described publisher can all contest a credit line that a store has already accepted and is already paying out against.
Where a family is not unified, as DJ Arafat’s is not, a producer or a publisher gets to choose which relative’s account to act on, and the choice has financial consequences for the others. That dynamic is likely to recur anywhere an artist dies without a clear, documented assignment of their recordings while litigation over an earlier release is still open.
What this record does not claim
It does not claim that Christy B’s publishing contracts are valid, invalid, or cover these two albums. It does not claim that David Monsoh or Obouo Music lacks the right to release this material; Lavenir.ci’s reporting of his own letter shows he did not contact the rights holders before the first release, but that is a fact about notice, not a finding about title. It does not state who, if anyone, currently holds master rights to “In Memory” or “Unique.” It does not adopt Christy B’s 400 million CFA franc estimate as a verified figure. No Côte d’Ivoire company registry search was available to confirm the legal form or ownership of either ChristyB Records or Obouo Music, and no ruling from either the 2025 or 2026 legal action has been published. What is established is narrower: what two named parties have said in public, and what two commercial stores’ own catalogue records show, independently checked, as of 3 November 2026.
