Flourgon has broken his silence on his recent copyright infringement settlement with American pop star Miley Cyrus.
The veteran deejay commented lyrically during his performance on the Rebel Salute stage on the weekend and during a backstage interview with Onstage’s entertainment journalist Winford Williams. “Me deh in a the country a chill and me just a hold a vibes, because too much people a come down on me. Me no even want talk bout it. Because it crazy,” Flourgon told Williams. “Me just glad for the win and because nuff people never believe say it could happen; and a win is a win,” he added.
In March 2018, the now 53-year-old Jamaican had filed a US$300 million copyright infringement lawsuit in the US District Court of Manhattan, New York, against Miley. The suit claimed she had plagiarized the line “we run things, things no run we” from his 1998 track “We Run Things” and embedded it in her 2013 single ‘We Can’t Stop,’ twisting the lyrics to ‘We run things, things don’t run we.”
Last December, after almost two years, Miley finally decided to settle out of court in what has been hailed as a landmark case and a massive win for Jamaican artistes and lyricists.
The settlement sum has not been disclosed, but attorneys for Flourgon say the presiding judge, in an earlier hearing, “had reduced expectations of a US$300-million payout”. However, since that time, Flourgon has reportedly been bombarded with calls from persons begging for money.
Over the weekend, the artiste said, however, that he could not comment on the settlement sum, but implied that it was a far cry from the US$300 million which his attorneys had initially sought.
“Right now we have a settlement but you know mi can’t discuss it because you know how dem people deh stay. Else me would a tell di whole Jamaica everything. But Jamaica mi love oonu and mi pray fi everybody understand because a nuh nothing like weh people a talk and me no want go no further with it. Me just want say thanks,” he stressed.
During the interview, Flourgon, whose real name is Michael May, said the win over Cyrus serves as an inspiration to other Jamaican artistes whose work has been exploited.
“For everyone weh do music and afraid to go defend them thing, yuh haffi come forward and defend it because a nuff people neva believe in a me. Dem say ‘Flourgon you a idiot’; me say ‘no, me read up on infringement and me know it a little,’ so mi just pursue and I am very proud of the win. And me glad for all the people them in Jamaica and around the world weh stand by me. Me feel good and I just wanna say thanks,” he said.
During his performance on the Rebel Salute stage, Flourgon took lyrical jabs at Miley and co-defendant Sony music, in a refix of “We Run Things’.
“Wake up dis morning, check di news an mi si Miley; Mi seh Miley Cyrus, memba mi money; And den mi bun a fire pon Sony,” he sang, evoking cheers from the audience.
Flourgon said his mission at present is to fight for peace in Cassava Piece, Red Hills Road, Whitehall, Park Lane, Hundred, and Common communities in Kingston where his roots are.
“Min uh want hear nuttn bout nuh money; a love mi a talk bout,” he said.
