In an exclusive interview, rising dancehall artist Jeff Fully Auto shared the story behind his track “Big Guns,” which he claims inspired elements of Byron Messia’s hit song “Talibans.” The latter, released on January 20, 2023, became a major success, charting on the Hot 100 after a remix by Burna Boy was released on July 20, 2023. It went on to earn Gold certification in Canada (40,000 units), sell 500,000 units in the U.S., and achieve Brit-certified Silver status in the U.K. (200,000 units). This all occurred before Talibans‘ official music videos were hit with copyright strikes on YouTube for allegedly infringing on “Big Guns.”
The original version of Talibans amassed 60 million views on YouTube before it was removed, while the Burna Boy remix had garnered more than 40 million views. The track remains available on Apple Music and Spotify, where it has accumulated 68 million streams, while the remix featuring Burna Boy has surpassed 62 million streams. The song is the lead single from Byron’s album No Love—the highest-selling dancehall album in the U.S. over the past two years—which landed at No. 10 on this year’s Billboard Year-End Reggae Albums Chart.
Additionally, Messia ranks at No. 7 on the 2024 Billboard Albums Artists Chart, while Ztekk, the original label that released the song, is ranked No. 5 on the Billboard Year-End Reggae Albums Labels Chart.
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The Inspiration Behind “Big Guns”
Jeff revealed that “Big Guns” was born from a real-life incident in his hometown of Canaanites, Clarendon. He told World Music Views:
“That song, I wrote it a long time ago. I believe I was 19 when I wrote it. At first, it didn’t get any recognition—it was about a year later before people noticed it. Even I didn’t know it would get recognition. The inspiration came from something that happened in my community.”
Jeff recalled the moment that sparked the song’s creation:
“I live in Canaanites, Clarendon, a place known for a bit of violence here and there. One time, I remember an unknown tinted vehicle passing through the area, and the guys in my area fired at it. That situation gave me the inspiration.”
He explained the aftermath and how it influenced his writing:
“It turned out the people in the car were law enforcement, patrolling the area. That incident left me a bit traumatized, so I documented it in the form of music. That’s how I came up with the song.”
Early Release and Popularity
Jeff admitted that he released “Big Guns” unofficially at first due to a lack of resources and industry knowledge:
“At the time, I didn’t know how to upload music properly. I just used an instrumental from YouTube. It wasn’t until the following year, when the song started gaining popularity, that I got the official instrumental.”
Reaction to “Talibans”
Upon hearing the similarities between “Big Guns” and “Talibans”, Jeff initially took a positive stance:
“I heard the song, and I could hear the similarities. My first thought was, ‘Yeah, Caribbean people are doing their thing. We rate each other.’ That was my impression at first.”
Despite the success of “Talibans”, certified Gold in Canada (40,000), the U.S. (500,000) and BritCertified Silver in the UK(200,000), Jeff deferred legal questions about the amount he expects to recover to his professional team:
“I don’t have much to say on that. I leave it to my management and lawyers to handle the legal side. I just focus on music—anything to do with music or songs, I can tell you about.”
The Legal Dispute
Jeff’s label, Big League Records, confirmed that the case is heading to court after attempts to resolve the matter amicably failed. They stated:
“Based on (advice from) the lawyers, everything is going to court. Our team tried everything to actually resolve the situation. You know it’s a big song, we love the song and we nah hate pon nobody, but when you can’t communication everything breaks down, it becomes about ego. It’s music business it’s not about feelings anymore; this is the music business.”
The label further emphasized their intent to seek justice internationally:
“Whatever we do, it’s professionally done.”
In genres like hip-hop and dancehall, borrowing flows and cadences is common and often seen as homage rather than theft—unless tied to unique, protectable elements like lyrics or melodies. U.S. and international copyright laws generally do not grant exclusive rights to abstract concepts like flow or cadence unless they are explicitly tied to specific lyrics, melodies, or sound recordings.
Watch full interview with Jeff Fully Auto on YouTube.
