Famous Egyptian actor and rapper Ahmed Mekky's latest track "Wa'fet Nasyt Zaman" was deleted from YouTube on Monday "due to copyrights claims by Audiam."

The 37-year-old star had released his music track on 14 December with a richly-produced video clip nostalgically addressing virtues and values of the country's masses. The theme is a common one for the artist, reflecting a yearning for the youth ethics of the simple neighborhoods like his own, El-Talbia.

After a long hiatus from releasing new productions, the movie and TV star has put forth a big marketing campaign for "Wa'fet Nasyt Zaman" through various platforms and websites, attracting more than 15 million YouTube views in almost two months.

"We used the sampling technique. We got a sample from an old track from the 60s and broke it to make a new melody," Mekky stated to an Egyptian TV channel in December amid the launch of the marketing campaign for his song.

Many reports have linked the ban of his video to his use of a 1999 song by Róisín Murphy's titled The Truth, which is the source of sampled material Mekky used for his song.

The chord progression of drums, bass, guitars and piano components in "The Truth" sounds similar to the main loop Mekky used in "Wa'fet Nasyt Zaman," but Mekky's producer Adam El-Sherif added some violin and accordion solos and lead licks, in addition to some electronic beats during the slower-tempo parts.

Audiam is a publishing agent that owns the rights of many well-known artists including Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Jack White, Jason Mraz, Steve Miller and thousands more.

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