Shabba Ranks Sues to Reclaim Publishing Rights to Dancehall Classics

Dancehall legend Shabba Ranks is taking his fight for ownership of some of his most famous songs to court.

According to Billbaord, the Jamaican Grammy-winning artist, born Rexton Gordon, has filed a lawsuit against the publishing arm of Greensleeves Records seeking to reclaim U.S. publishing rights to compositions from his celebrated catalog.

The dispute covers several songs that helped make Shabba an international dancehall star in the 1990s, including Billboard Hot 100 hits “Mr. Loverman,” “Slow and Sexy,” “Housecall” and “Let’s Get It On.”

Also involved is his influential 1990 recording “Dem Bow,” a foundational dancehall track whose rhythm and name became closely associated with the development of reggaetón.

According to the lawsuit, Shabba notified Greensleeves in 2023 that he intended to exercise his rights under U.S. copyright law to terminate an earlier transfer of his copyrights.

Copyright termination provisions give qualifying songwriters and other creators an opportunity, after a specified period, to reclaim rights they previously transferred to publishers or other companies.

Greensleeves has reportedly rejected Shabba’s attempt, arguing that a 1989 publishing agreement classified the compositions as “works made for hire.” Works that legally qualify as works made for hire are generally excluded from copyright termination rights.

Shabba’s attorneys are challenging that position.

They argue that the dancehall star was never an employee of Greensleeves and that musical compositions created by an independent songwriter cannot simply become works made for hire because a contract describes them that way.

Shabba is now asking the court to declare his termination notices valid, potentially allowing him to regain control of the U.S. rights to the disputed compositions.

The case arrives as copyright termination becomes an increasingly important battleground in the music industry, with veteran artists seeking greater control over recordings and songs they signed away decades earlier.

For Shabba Ranks, the stakes involve more than a collection of hits. His catalog represents a pivotal period in dancehall history, when Jamaican music was breaking deeper into the American mainstream and influencing sounds that would eventually become global.

Neither Shabba Ranks nor Greensleeves had publicly commented on the lawsuit when the case was initially reported.