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King Jammys Testifies For Greensleeves
Since there were doubts as to the validity of
the contract signed by Junju, Greensleeves had
Producer / Record Label owner King Jammys travel
from Jamaica to America to testify in court on
behalf of Greensleeves and against The Scientist.
In court King Jammys testified that The Scientist
was a young boy of 14/15 years old and did not
have the experience to engineer the music that he
says he did. He also said that he, King Jammys was
the boss and foreman at King Tubbys studio in
Kingston where the work was produced and when The
Scientist did any work it was on a ‘work for
hire’ basis, you got paid for your work one time
and you owned no copyright. The Scientist says
this is not true and although he was very young,
King Tubby trusted him implicitly to open up and
lock up the studio as well as engineer the music.
Unfortunately King Tubby is deceased and unable to
verify this. However, Jah Life verified that what
The Scientist said is true. Jah Life states that
at no time was Jammys in the studio with them, it
was only The Scientist, Jah Life and Junju’s
brother ‘Melon.’
Another artist, veteran DJ Lady Ann also spoke
to West Indian Times saying that she was there in
the studios most of the time with The Scientist
and that he was the best mixing engineer of those
times. Lady Ann said that King Tubby’s studio
was the worst place in Kingston, she said you had
to pass gunmen who would ask if you are PNP or JLP
in order for you to get past and you had to answer
‘Musician’. Lady Ann said that Jammys (who was
Prince Jammys at the time) would not go to the
studio because it was too dangerous and she knew
that Jammys was envious of The Scientist because
of the trust and faith that King Tubbys put into
Scientist. Lady Ann says she too is fighting for
her royalties so that her children are set before
she leaves this earth.
Greensleeves Responsible Party
Although they did not have to pay The Scientist
and give him the copyright to his music,
Greensleeves was responsible for the huge bill
that had been mounting up over a three year
period. The expensive lawyer fees for themselves
and RockStar and all monies paid out was their
responsibility.
Greensleeves recently sold their company.
The Scientist now has a lawsuit pending in
France against Greensleeves, and his lawyer Andre
R. Bertrand is engaging in actions to obtain the
payment of the legal remunerations due and payable
to the Jamaican artists and musicians, including
Jah Life and The Scientist, who were not
compensated for their work.
In France, the courts want to see an actual
contract showing ownership they do not recognize
the concept of work for hire. This will put
Greensleeves in a serious situation because if
they lose in court, they could face fines of up to
180,000 Euros per violation and a violation does
not mean an album but a track. Not only that, but
it would set a precedence for others to follow and
be compensated for their work.
The Death Threats
Calls were made to The Scientist on Sunday,
March 19th 2006 and he recorded them.
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