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Rapper OsamaSon is reportedly being sued by the American rock band Iron Maiden over a copyright claim. The rapper is facing legal action over the cover artwork he used for his sophomore mixtape FLXTRA (the deluxe edition to his 2023 mixtape Flex Musix).
Osa dropped FLXTRA on all streaming services on February 16, 2024. The cover art reportedly copied Iron Maiden's mascot "Eddie Mummy," a character who has consistently appeared on all of their albums.
OsamaSon uploaded a story to his Instagram account announcing that Iron Maiden was suing him and that the cover art for FLXTRA would be removed.
"@ironmaiden is suing me," he wrote on the since-expired story.
Some fans are blaming Osa's creative director, Stunmic, for the Iron Maiden copyright claim. Stunmic creates a lot of the album art for the rapper's projects.
What are the similarities between OsamaSon's FLEXTRA cover art and Iron Maiden's 'Eddie Mummy' mascot?
Media outlet Kurrco reported on the ongoing lawsuit between the rapper, whose real name is Amari Middleton, and rock band Iron Maiden. The FLXTRA rapper is being sued for allegedly copying the artwork of Eddie Mummy on his new deluxe album.
A closer comparison of the two artworks shows that both pieces have a mummified individual biting of chained handcuffs. The figure is also seen being struck by a bolt of lightning, that spreads across the entire graphic.
The only clear difference between the two covers is the color of the background and the cloth wrapped over the characters. Osa's "mummy" appears more disheveled against a red background in contrast to the more neatly wrapped Iron Maiden mascot who stands against a blue background.
It is still unclear if it was Iron Maiden's label or the band that issued the copyright infringement claim on OsamaSon's album cover. However, the rapper did confirm on Instagram that he was being sued by the band.
For die-hard Iron Maiden fans, Eddie Mummy is a well-known mascot initially incepted in 1980 by Derek Riggs. The mascot is influenced by a paper mache mask the band would use to glamorize their sets.
Eddie first appeared on the band's first record titled Running Free but he wasn't clearly depicted in it. He looked like a shadowy figure lurking in the backdrop of the cover.
The band's second album, Killers (1981) became infamous amongst their fanbase and the rock community. This was because it was the first time the mummy was depicted in an extremely murderous and grotesque fashion.
Every album and project that followed would find Eddie appearing on the cover. The character was immortalized and became synonymous with Iron Maiden's branding. "The Mummy" or Eddie Mummy was a well-known figure in early 90s Rock and Metal music.
Who is Osamason? Details explored as rapper reportedly sued over the FLEXTRA artwork
OsamaSon (Amari Middleton) is a 20-year-old underground SoundCloud rapper and record producer from South Carolina, who started making music in 2020. He released his first project titled Im Da Man, in August 2021. Following this, he consistently released singles and mixtapes exclusively on SoundCloud.
He had his first breakthrough hit in April 2023 with the track cts-v, which got him significant attention in the underground music scene. His follow-up single Thuggin W My Rounds, released later that month, only boosted the attention he was gaining as a legit rap artist.
His debut mixtape titled Osama Season was released later in July 2023. This led to Osa gaining significant social media success and viral moments off that record, with songs like Lil O and X & S*x.
Not long after Osama Season was released it was announced that Osa had signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. The label also houses stars like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, and more.
Post the release of his debut EP, OsamaSon continued to release a slew of singles and collaborate with several underground artists. This only helped him boost his social media and streaming presence. OsamaSon released his highly anticipated sophomore mixtape, titled Flex Musix on all streaming platforms, on December 8, 2023.
Since that release, Osa's Spotify streaming numbers have rapidly shot up with the rapper's monthly stream count closing in a little over 400,000. His Instagram follower count has also increased to over 250,000, making him one of the biggest underground stars currently.
In February 2024, OsamaSon dropped the deluxe edition of Flex Musix, titled FLEXTRA, which had six songs included as part of its official tracklist.
- Cartel
- Rehhab
- Need It
- Alot
- Flxr
- Freestyle
He also dropped a music video for Freestyle two months later, on April 20, 2024.
At the time of writing this article, additional details about the reported copyright infringement lawsuit that OsamaSon stated he is currently facing.
