Jamaican dancehall artiste Clifford Smith, better known as Mr Vegas, has requested preliminary injunctive relief against VP Records.

According to reports, documents filed at a New York court state that the record label is in breach of contract and copyright infringement as it continues to collect royalties for several of his hit song.

These include Heads High (1997) and its Kill ’em Wid It remix (1998), Sucky Ducky (1998), Hot Wuk (2006), and Gallis (2009).

The lawsuit also involves four songs from Sean Paul’s debut album Stage One (2000), namely Haffi Get de gal ya, Tiger Bone, and the skit Nicky, all of which featured Mr Vegas; and Check it deeply, which was produced by Mr Vegas.

Collectively, these songs published over two decades ago still bring in approximately US$35,000 per year that the record label profits from.

The injunction was requested on August 29, 2022.

Mr Vegas is asking the court to prohibit VP Records from selling any of these records while the case is ongoing as they are exploiting his “likeness and image”.

According to the Bruk it down deejay, he owns the rights to all of these singles and he should receive royalties for his creations.

But, VP Records is adamant that it owns or has licensed the rights to sell and market the songs which are at issue in the lawsuit.

The company also claims that removing the songs from all streaming platforms will harm other artiste, such as Sean Paul, and the relationship he has with the reggae label.

There are settlement discussions currently taking place between the two parties, with the next mediation conference set for November 30, 2022, the court records show.