The lawsuit filed by Reggae veteran Nardo Ranks against HoodCelebrityy for copyright infringement has taken an interesting twist.
Last month, Nardo Ranks filed a lawsuit in the Manhattan Federal court against HoodCelebrityy, whose real name is Tina Pinnock, claiming she “pirated and extracted significant phrasing” from his 1990s dancehall hit song, Dem A Bleach, for her new track Run Di Road. KSR Group, the record label that released the track, is also mentioned.
In the latest update, the presumptive writer, Winston Solomon said he was shocked after learning that Nardo Ranks was suing HoodCelebrityy for $500,000 USD in damages.
Solomon who wrote the Dancehall banger almost 30 years ago, spoke to the Jamaica Observer about the pending lawsuit said he felt slighted that he was not informed about it. “As the person who write Dem A Bleach I see it as a disrespect to me that there would be a lawsuit going on regarding the song and no one contacted me. If anyone ask Nardo Ranks where the idea for the song came from, he could never tell you,” he said.
Solomon, who lives in Philadelphia, claims he initially wrote the song for another Dancehall deejay, General Trees, but eventually decided to give the track to Nardo Ranks. The tune would turn out to be his breakthrough hit.
Solomon, also claimed that he is the registered writer for Dem A Bleach and said he registered through PRS For Music Limited, the United Kingdom’s largest royalties collection company.
According to Solomon, he is registered as the writer for Dem A Bleach through PRS For Music Limited, the United Kingdom’s largest royalties collection company.
Meanwhile, HoodCelebrityy’s Run Di Road was re-uploaded on June 18 with fans noting a change in the beat and the lyrics of the song. The verse where she sings about not bleaching was removed in its entirety. The original track was also removed from Spotify and HoodCelebrityy’s YouTube channel.
