The Worlian Says Yes; The Renegade Says “Mi Nuh Know Nuttin”… Now Judge For Yourself
Earlier this week the Jamaica Star ran an interview with a little-known dancehall artist called Princz Charmin, in which he accused the well-known dancehall duo RDX of stealing his song, “Kotch It Deh Soh,” which has become a hit in St. Lucia. “Dem build a rhythm similar,” explained the artist, “only changing a few phrases. Syndicate Records had sent the rhythm to RDX through Cashflow and wi nuh get nuh reply from dem… then suddenly RDX come with a song name Kotch.” The Star also contacted DJ Neil Cashflow, the producer of the RDX song, who told them “I don’t know this young artiste and this label. They would have to take it up with RDX because this has nothing to do with Cashflow.” Renegade of RDX offered a similar statment: “Mi nuh know nuhbody and mi nuh know nothing bout nuh song, mi just duh mi song, mi nuh have nuh more comment bout nothing.” Princz Charmin, also known as the Worlian, and his Riddim Syndicate bredren took their grievances to YouTube, posting a clip in which they say “stop tief the people dem tings.” Like “biting” in hip-hop, pirating styles has been a longstanding issue in dancehall, but it’s difficult to prove. The similarity of titles might “look a way” but it’s hardly proof of piracy. Kotch is a popular slang meaning to hang or chill for a moment—or for a girl to put something special someplace special. (Just think of how many tunes named “Wine” are released each month.) The late Risto Benjie made a tune called “Don’t Pirate It” way back in the 80s. Often songs would be released with the word “original” added to the title as a way of asserting that another artist had stolen their idea. For instance, Shabba Ranks has claimed that Red Dragon got his smash hit “Hol A Fresh” from overhearing the young Ranks chatting the same style live on a sound system. When he dropped his version he called it “Original Fresh.” So what’s the real deal with this Princz Charmin / RDX dispute? There’s really only one way to be sure—hear the tunes and judge for yourself. Videos After The Jump…
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