The wife of Jamaican superstar Sean Paul is standing tall behind him as she defends him against claims by a fellow Jamaican singer that he illegally sampled her music. Sean Paul’s track “Light Em Up” was featured in the blockbuster movie, ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’, which was released this week.
It’s a massive accomplishment for Sean Paul, who appears to have created the song, which is one of two tracks featured in the film. However, shortly after the movie was released, one-half of the Brick n Lace duo, Nyla Thorbourne, claimed that Sean Paul’s track sounds very much like her Major Lazer collaboration “Light It Up,” and hinted that he had illegally sampled her music.
While it is debated that the two tracks are not similar, Nyla insisted that the Sony Music released track has similarities. However, she later backtracked after facing a major backlash on social media.
“Music is shared in the industry, especially if you are signed to the same label… Am I saying that our beloved Sean Paul was the person? I don’t think so. I think Sean actually just did his verse in the studio as they asked him to and went home and about his business. As far as I know, Sean and I cleared it up,” she said in a video posted to her Instagram account.
In an updated video posted on Tuesday, she seemingly backtracked her claims that he might have had something to do with the song’s similarity and hinted that the label may be responsible.
“Let me be clear, this was not at all about Sean Paul. As someone who has experience in the industry and been apart of many writing collaborations, you don’t have to be in the studio with everyone involved to be a part of a project. In my heart of hearts, I did not think it was Sean Paul who wrote the hook part or catchphrase. Song writers, label executives and creatives listen to other people’s music all the time and model new songs off other people’s records All the time, I think it is a good and creative songwriter who can create something based off a template but make it their own,” she wrote on Instagram.
Sean Paul did not publicly address Thorourne’s claims, but his wife, Jodi ‘Jinx’ Hendricks, called her out on her YouTube show, ‘Twosday With Tricky.’
“Nyla, I’m not gonna diss you. Growing up, I danced to your bops. I think you and your sister are very talented. You’re not only a good singer, but you’re also a good songwriter, so I’m not gonna sit here and diss you. What I’m upset about, which I have always championed, if you diss my husband I am going to comment,” Jodi said.
She added, “Here’s the problem I have- you and Sean are friends, you and Sean have worked together, you have Sean’s number. If you had a problem, you could have called him, and you could have said, ‘Sean, this sounds a little familiar to me’… Instead, you went out on your verandah and said, ‘I have the tea’. What tea Nyla? Why is this tea? Why is this an argument? Why you come and you carrying on and whatever? That means it is an argument you want.”
In the meantime, Nyla’s sister Nyanda also defended her sister.
“I do think there is a similarity in the cadence and the melody… there is a similarity, and what I want to remind you guys is, yes, this is our livelihood, and as an artist, as a writer, we even me, we can unconsciously use a melody that is similar to somebody else’s song and not even know. As a writer also, I think we have the right to express it if we hear something. Obviously, Sean Paul is a legend, we love Sean Paul so fricking much,” she said in a video.
