VP Records and Flava at Odds

A major brouhaha over who produced the 83 and Rub-a-Dub rhythms is brewing but that dispute is the mere precursor for what could be a major battle between local producers and reggae label, VP Records. The dispute stems from a release issued by Greensleeves Publishing which suggested that a 21 year-old musician, Llamar Brown “co-produced the 83 Rhythm (Greensleeves Records) and Rub A Dub rhythm (VP Records) with Kemar “Flava” McGregor”. However, No Doubt Records chief executive officer Kemar McGregor denied that calling it a ‘bare-faced lie” and that there was no co-producer of his rhythm. “VP/Greensleeves needs to get the facts straight, Llamar is a musician, he plays keyboard for No Doubt, he is not the co-producer, he cannot be listed as a co-producer, he is no producer. Anything Llamar plays in my studio, I tell him to play, I am a musical youth, I tell musicians how I want them to play, so I don’t know where this is coming from,” he said. He said that he had even called Chris Chin at VP Records about the release, but Chin said he was not aware of the problem. “I am never going to sign to VP, when my ting start, there was no VP or Greensleeves, just No Doubt, radio stations like IRIE and the people. I don’t want my thing tie up, reggae music is bigger than VP, there are many opportunities to licence your music out there in film, commercials etcetera, so while I respect VP for what they do, I want to be able to negotiate and set my own prices,” he said. McGregor also hinted that No Doubt Records was on the verge of merging with another major label to distribute their music. “We want to be in control of our destiny, if we’re going sign any deal, it must be non-exclusive. I am creating a future and legacy for other youths to come and benefit from,” he said.

He said that he had enjoyed an excellent working relationship with VP and his work will be released on several major VP releases this Summer and Fall including those of Riche Spice, Morgan Heritage and Etana. “I don’t know where this information is coming from, but VP needs to be careful to get its facts straight,” he said. In the Greensleeves Publishing release, it was announced that it had signed the young producer Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown who has recently been working with the top reggae artists producing tracks for Morgan Heritage’s new album “Mission In Progress” and Richie Spice’s new album “Gideon Boot” and upcoming albums by Beenie Man, Gyptian, and Etana. In the release, Llamar was quoted as saying: “I am very excited about my new venture with Greensleeves Music Publishing. I am certain that the future with myself and Greensleeves Records holds endless possibilities and I am honored to be a part of the family."

VP'S GROWING MONOPOLY

Insiders believe that this is a covert move to control the publishing rights of reggae hit records. They are concerned about the growing power of VP Records. VP Records bought Greensleeves earlier this year in a major move that irked most industry insiders. Some producers are already bristling over the fact that VP Records only offers US$5,000 on average to licence a dancehall or reggae track, even though some producers spent over US$20,000 to produce, market and distribute a typical rhythm project. This had led to several producers, especially those in roots rock, shelving plans to do rhythm projects. Dancehall is cheaper to produce but even those producers are feeling the economic pinch. "Something has to be done, the cost to produce music has increased, electricity gone up, the cost of stampers gone up, even the plastic to package the product has gone up, yet still VP has not increased the prices it pays to license our music, something has to give," one producer said on condition of anonymity.

Source: One 876 Ent