In an All Star interview at Devon House in Kingston for the launch of Murder She Wrote, the 30th anniversary concert set to take place on April 29 at the Plantation Cove Priory St. Ann, Jamaica, Chaka Demus, one half of the famed duo Chaka Demus and Pliers revealed that he and his music partner did not sign good deals as they were coming up in the music business.
“Yea man me own some of my music still, but it nuh pretty me brother, when me a come as an artist it rough inuh. Sometimes you just go out deh and you record and you don’t even understand the business when you a record, you just love the music business so you just record for people,” Chaka laments.
The album Tease Me first released in 1993 and was rearranged and re-released in 2013 as “All That She Wrote” has been certified Gold in Canada for selling more than 40,000 units as of November 18, 1994. Tease Me is also certified Platinum in the U.K. for selling more than 300,000 units.
Murder She Wrote
Murder She Wrote, the hit single produced by riddim twins Sly and Robbie and released by Mango Records is certified Gold in the U.K. for surpassing sales of 400,000 units and is included on Billboard‘s 50 Best Song Interpolations of the 21st Century. It is the coming together of two separate songs, first a 1987 song about “Maxine” written by Everton Bonner(who changed his name a year later to Pliers) and produced by Harry J. In 1989 another song was released about a girl with “pretty face and bad character” by Chaka Demus, produced by Bobby Digital.
In 1991, Chaka Demus & Pliers came together and made a collaboration that has become one of music’s biggest foundational songs to be released a year later.
Similar to Steelie and Cleevie’s Fish Market Riddim Muder She Wrote has been the backbone of several Latin and hip hop superstar career hits. Daddy Yankee has one of the most successful samples of the Murder She Wrote riddim for Que Tire Pa Lante which has almost a billion views on YouTube. Chaka Demus and Pliers were not credited at first on the song, but eventually won a ASCAP lawsuit where they were credited.
Nicki Minaj and French Montana sampled for Murder She Wrote for the RIAA Gold selling single “Freak” which peaked at No. 77 on the Hot 100. Jason Derulo’s Too Hot also sampled.
Among the duo’s other successes include three consecutive chart toppers in the U.K.: Tease Me which peaked at No 3 {12.06.1993}, She Don’t Let Nobody {18.09.1993} which went to No. 4 and Twist and Shout which peaked at #1 {19.12. 1993} on the U.K. Official Singles chart.
Still, even with the respect and chart success his songs get worldwide, Chaka is upset at the assignments of his musical rights and subsequent future earnings to record labels, which he admits he signed away due to him not ‘knowing the business.’ “Right now is not a pretty thing, it nuh nice, it don’t even nice fi talk bout, me a tell the I that from me heart because me and the singer Pliers get a raw deal,” Demus, real name John Christopher Taylor told WMV.
He spoke on behalf of his longest riding musical partner Pliers but some of Chaka’s pre-90s solo career hits include Number One, produced by Bobby Digital for the 1992 album Gal Wine, Donovan Germain produced Bring it to Me and the King Jammys produced One Scotch with Admiral Bailey.
Even with local and global hits, the 60 year old veteran deejay says the business choices he made and the exploitations that happened are painful reflection.
“First thing you have to make sure say you sign a good contract, you nuh, and that a wah me and the singer did do wrong. We nuh wah go innah that because it painful, see wah me a seh but we still a live and we own some of we music still you nuh, give thanks, me nuh even have nuts more fi seh,” the West Kingston native said.
Artist’s And Their Deals
Entertainment lawyer Mackeda Bramwell told WMV that artists should take the time to sign better deals wo later in life they don’t feel duped.
“A lot of artists come to the table and they really only have talent, they don’t have the resources that they need in terms of the money to produce these songs, money for the clothing,” the Canadian Barrister said.
She hopes to help more Jamaican artists establish themselves and make better deals both locally and overseas but is cautious of the more urgent needs of artists from the region.
“Oftentimes it’s on the instructions of the client that we go by. We will say to them don’t take it but they see an opportunity and they say they want a buss, so ‘i will take it for now’, but eventually they suffer underneath that contract.”
“What they are looking at is the here and now and how they get out of poverty,” she continued.
Over the years reggae and dancehall artists such as Shabba Ranks, Gyptian, Patra and Diana King have entered into contracts with record labels overseas with much joy and excitement in the beginning, only to comment that they did not get a good bargain later.
Reggae singer Etana is one of the latest to have filed a lawsuit against VP Records.
She confirmed with World Music Views that the suit is filed with the Supreme Court in the State of New York over artist royalties, mechanical royalties, public performance royalties, and other monies allegedly due to her. Etana, 37, and her label Freemind Music LLC, had filed the lawsuit against VP and their affiliate labels: VP Records Retail Outlet Inc, VP Music Group Inc, VP Records Distributors LLC, VP Records of Brooklyn LLC, Greensleeves Publishing Ltd and STB Music Inc.
Attorneys from the law firm Fox Rothschild LLP, which represents VP, argued that the matter should be thrown out. They claim that Etana’s first cause of action is barred by the VP recording agreement’s two-year limitations provision, that VP had no fiduciary duty to her, and that her breach of contract and fraud claims fail as a matter of law, as “the Fraud Claim Is Duplicative of Their Breach of Contract Claims”.
The Jah Jah Blessings singer told World Music Views that “I just want what is legally mine.”
To the subject of owning the masters, attorney Mackeda Bramwell said,
“Artists should strive to hold on to their masters, this is your body of work, this is your legacy, but oftentimes the contracts don’t come this way and so it could be a deal breaker for a record label to sign an artist if they decide not to give up the masters.”
She said there is also another side that may be enticing for artists.
“If you see 50 million dollars in front of you right now, for your masters and you are in poverty and you are trying to look a ‘buss’, right you need this, right and its about signing away your body of work that you are going to make for the next ten years, would you take this 50 million dollars? Or do you say ‘no’ and stay in poverty and work until I can independently make my way?”
Music superstar Sean Paul is one such artist who has given up his masters for his early recordings in exchange for the backing of a record label’s marketing and promotions. He said although he doesn’t own his early hits, relinquishing them was a stepping stone for his career. He says now with many years in the business he is able to re-record the songs and have ownership of the new masters but it has been an uphill climb.
“I always wanted to own my songs. It has taken years because VP records and Atlantic Records own all my hits. They were a big distribution link so those are owned by them but I have the right to re-record them after 15 years and I own those. I haven’t done it yet but this new relationship with Island Records allows me to record and release in Jamaica so I decided to put out singles. With them, I own my masters but I lease it to them for a few years and when they are done I get it back for ownership. It took me twenty years,” the Dutty Cup artist told World Music Views.
He continued, “anybody who wants to have their own label needs money to push, you need a publicist, someone to take your pictures and videos, for this album I have spent hundreds of thousands already.”
Owner of VP Records, the label that owns the most Jamaican reggae and dancehall music, Miss Patt told WMV in an interview last year that the process of signing artists and in particular Sean Paul has been a learning curve for all parties involved.
It’s a learning curve for my own company as well as Sean Paul, we had a little difficulty because back then it was handshake we didn’t have the lawyers. Somebody asked us how do you take so long to put out my record, we have to dot the ‘T’ and put the right things in place. That’s why we slow down in producing and distribution. it’s a learning curve for everyone and we just have to wish them the best. We still have good relationship, they come and they go and we wish them the best. What we can do for them is very small compared to the big majors.
Watch full interview with Chaka Demus below:
