The Cruise People Limited has taken legal action against musician Black Sherif, accusing him of breaching a contract they had entered into.

The lawsuit, filed at the High Court, alleges that Black Sherif failed to fulfill the terms of their agreement, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the Afro Cruise Jam concert he was scheduled to perform at in August.

According to the suit, Cruise People Limited had booked Black Sherif for the cruise event and paid half of his booking fee, amounting to $20,000. As part of the agreement, Black Sherif was supposed to provide a video confirming his participation in the event in Greece.

However, the Plaintiff claims that despite assurances from Black Sherif that he would send the video before the media launch on May 19, he failed to do so. Consequently, the company went ahead and paid $18,000 to secure cabins on the cruise and an additional GHS65,000 to Joy FM for the launch on Drive Time.

Due to Black Sherif's alleged failure to honor the contract, the concert had to be canceled, leading to financial losses and disappointment for Cruise People Limited. The lawsuit seeks to address the breach of contract and the damages incurred as a result.

“The Plaintiff avers that as a result of the Defendant’s willful neglect and or refusal to confirm his musical performance on the Joy FM radio show through the video clip, the paid deposit of $18,000 for the cabins on the cruise ship was lost to the cruise line due to the cancellation of the booking of the cabins since the expected Interests and patronage of the event could not be guarantee,” part of the suit read.

Cruise People Limited emphasized that Black Sherif was fully aware that his failure to fulfill his obligations, specifically confirming his participation in the event, would severely impact the Afro Cruise Jam. The success of the event relied heavily on the Defendant's announcement of his availability to perform on the cruise ship.

They further asserted that this conduct by Black Sherif constitutes a significant breach of the agreement that was executed on April 18, 2023, rendering the entire agreement ineffective.

As a result of the breach, the organisers of the Afro Cruise Jam are seeking legal recourse. They are asking the court to direct Black Sherif to reimburse the $20,000 booking fee he was initially paid, in addition to seeking $18,000 to cover the expenses incurred in securing cabins on the cruise ship.

In summary, Cruise People Limited is urging the court to hold Black Sherif accountable for his actions and to provide compensation for the financial losses incurred due to the breach of contract.

Again, they are seeking “payment of interest on the $20,000 from the 18th April 2023, up to the date of final payment and an order directed at Defendant to pay Plaintiff $50,000 being lost profits occasioned by Defendant’s breach of the agreement.

Cruise People Limited are also seeking “an order directed at Defendant to pay to Plaintiff the Ghc65,000 which was paid to the Multimedia Group with the sole purpose of advertising the video clip of the Defendant which the Defendant refused to make available, general damages for breach of contract and Costs Inclusive of legal fees.”

Background

Following his arrival in Ghana, Black Sherif was arrested by the police at the Kotoka International Airport for alleged breach of contract. Sources close to the musician confirmed that he had been booked for the Afro Cruise Jam event and had initially paid a deposit of $20,000 out of the total $40,000 booking fee.

According to the same sources, the contract did not specify a requirement for promotional videos to be made for a press launch prior to the event.

In response to the threats of contract cancellation and potential lawsuits, Black Sherif's agents chose to refund the initial deposit. However, the event organizer insisted on being reimbursed $50,000 instead of the original $20,000 fee that had been paid.

Black Sherif's agents find this request unfair and inconsistent with their understanding of the agreement.

On the other hand, CEO of Cruise People Limited, Daniel Vanderpuye, maintains that a promotional video was indeed part of Black Sherif's obligations under the contract. Despite the musician's failure to provide the video, his team expressed readiness to consider any changes or proposals to the agreement in an email.

However, Mr. Vanderpuye stated that there was no response from Black Sherif's team for almost two months, during which he made multiple attempts to reach out to them through various channels, but to no avail.

“Gramps Morgan was in Ghana, he called the team and they called his bluff. Papa Logic, Baba Sadiq, and Amakye Dede’s folks all reached out and they called their bluff. I didn’t want to go on this tangent so I used all available human resources to reach out to the team,” he told Kwame Dadzie.