# Shabba Ranks Sues to Take His Catalog Back

> The dancehall star says a 1989 work-for-hire clause cannot block him from reclaiming hits like "Mr. Loverman."
- Title: Shabba Ranks Sues to Take His Catalog Back · Billboard
- Summary: The dancehall star says a 1989 work-for-hire clause cannot block him from reclaiming hits like "Mr. Loverman." Copyright termination lets authors reclaim…
- Keywords: music law, copyright, dancehall, publishing, reggae, Shabba, Ranks, Sues, Take, Catalog, Back, Billboard
- Source: Billboard — https://billboard.com/pro/jamaican-dancehall-singer-shabba-ranks-lawsuit-catalog
- Author: Rachel Scharf
- Published: 2026-09-11T23:05:22+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: music law, copyright, dancehall, publishing, reggae
## A dancehall star goes to court
Shabba Ranks, born Rexton Gordon, sued the publishing arm of reggae label Greensleeves Records on Friday, Sept. 11, to reclaim his own compositions.
## The hits on the line
The suit targets Hot 100 hits "Slow and Sexy", "Housecall", "Mr. Loverman" and "Let's Get It On", plus the 1990 track "Dem Bow".
## Dem Bow carries extra weight
"Dem Bow" gave reggaeton its dembow rhythm, and that rhythm sits at the center of a long-running copyright fight tangling up the whole genre.
## The clawback rule
U.S. copyright law lets authors terminate old deals and take their work back decades after signing it away. Publishers usually fight, and the fight becomes a lawsuit.
## Greensleeves said no
Shabba gave notice in 2023. The publisher refused, pointing to his 1989 deal calling the songs "works made for hire", a category the termination statute excludes.
## Never an employee
His lawyers argue the label cannot convert a songwriter into a work-for-hire author just by writing it into a contract, and they want a judge to say the termination stands.

> Gordon was never at any time an employee of [Greensleeves]
## Key takeaway

Copyright termination lets authors reclaim rights decades later, and publishers keep trying to block it with work-for-hire language that may not hold up.