Jamaican Dancehall Singer Shabba Ranks Sues to Claw Back Publishing Catalog
1990s Jamaican dancehall star Shabba Ranks has launched a court battle over his publishing rights.
Shabba (born Rexton Gordon) sued the publishing arm of reggae label Greensleeves Records on Friday (Sept.
11).
The lawsuit, obtained and first reported by Billboard , aims to reclaim compositions including the Billboard Hot 100 hits “Slow and Sexy”, “Housecall”, “Mr.
Loverman” and “Let’s Get It On.” Shabba’s catalog also includes the 1990 song “Dem Bow”, the namesake for reggaetón’s iconic “dembow” rhythm that is currently at the center of a long-running copyright infringement lawsuit entangling the entire genre.
Related Bad Bunny Wins Key Ruling in Massive Reggaeton Lawsuit Billboard to Add Smart Media Albums As Chart-Eligible Sales Formats Duane 'Keffe D' Davis Gives First Interview After Tupac Shakur Murder Conviction Friday’s lawsuit, meanwhile, centers on copyright termination — the provision of U.S. copyright law that enables authors to claw back their intellectual property decades after signing it away.
Labels and publishers have a habit of fighting back when musicians invoke this right, often leading to litigation.
Such is the case here.
Shabba first notified Greensleeves in 2023 that he wanted to exercise his termination right, but the publisher said no.
According to Greensleeves, Shabba’s 1989 publishing deal stipulated that his compositions were “works made for hire,” which are explicitly excluded from the copyright termination statute.
Shabba, however, is contesting the validity of that work-for-hire provision, and he wants a judge to declare that his copyright termination is effective regardless.
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Copyright Act, regardless of the language of the assignment,” wrote Shabba’s attorneys at Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt.
“Gordon was never at any time an employee of [Greensleeves], and musical compositions are not recognized in the U.S.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.billboard.com — the content belongs to Billboard.
