Ishawna Gets Clearance From Ed Sheeran For Re-Release Of ‘Equal Rights’

Dancehall star Ishawna is still basking in the goodwill extended to her by British pop star Ed Sheeran, who has recorded a new song with the Jamaican singer, and has also given her clearance to re-release her Equal Rights remix of his hit song Shape of You.

On Thursday, Ishawna posted snippets of Sheeran’s recent interview with Zeze Mills, where he made the revelation, and poured out her heart to her fans.

“If someone told me 4 years ago that I would get clearance from Ed Sheeran and his team I would’ve said no way‼   If someone had told me that 4 years later Equal Rights would be re-released on the official Shape of You instrumental, I would’ve said no way‼️😭” she wrote in part on Instagram.

During the one-hour interview which has been shared on YouTube, Zeze asked Sheeran about what she described as the “video of you singing along to the Caribbean version of Shape of You“.

“I’ve done a song with her (Ishawna), yeah.  Jamal sent me a post about how she’d done – I think she got a bit of backlash for that song.  I wouldn’t ever have known, but I think the Dancehall community gave her a bit of backlash, because she was basically saying ‘equal rights’,” a bashful Sheeran said, steering clear of going into details about the sexual connotation of the song.

After the host interjected pointing out that the song was, according to her, about “going down”, and that for those men who were not doing it, it was a “sad situation”, Sheeran blushingly responded.

“They all do.  Everyone does it. Some people don’t admit,” he said.

Speaking of Ishawna, he added: “So I just DMed her, because she said in the post that -she didn’t go to my label as she knew it wouldn’t get cleared.  So I DMed her and was like ‘hey, if you want that cleared, we can clear that tomorrow.  And then, so we were sorta chatting and she sent me another one of her songs and I was like ‘man, this is f-ckin great’.  So I just sent her an idea on guitar.  And then that day she sent me an idea back, and I was like ‘oh, f-k, cool’.  So then I recorded a little bit, sent it back. Then within like five days we have this chain.  I’m recording.  I’m gonna record my bits properly today and I’m going to figure out a way when to put it out.”

Sheeran said he loved making music with people regardless of whether or not they are big stars, something his music label fully understands.

“My only rule is ‘is it good?  Do I like it?'”

“They know it has got to a point where it doesn’t necessarily damage the brand.  It’s not like if I put that song out it is going to eat into the sales of Bad Habits.  They both exist in separate worlds,” he explained.

“I heard Ishawna’s song when I was in the Caribbean and then I spoke about it four years later on a radio show; and then we get in touch; and then we make a song and then we put it out.  That’s the story.  It’s not like a record company board meeting thing… So I think my label are at a point now when it comes to collaborations,” he said.

The statements by Sheeran come approximately one month after he confessed that he was smitten with Ishawna’s 2017 single, Equal Rights, a remix of his Shape of You.

Not long after, he had said in an interview with the Halfcast Podcast, that he and Ishawna had been working together on a track.  During the portion of that discussion, which was shared by Ishawna, Sheeran stated that they were doing some work together which would see him deejaying, as she had urged, and that she actually taught him to sing in Patois.

Equal Rights, which centered on oral sex being performed by a man on Ishawna, had come in for outright condemnation from many music selectors who refused to play it, among them her ex and father of her son, Foota Hype.  At the time Foota had said that he was sorry for their son Oshawn whom he was certain would be mocked by his peers, due to the lyrical content of his mother’s song.

On Thursday, Ishawna’s fans heaped praises on her for her new accomplishment.

“I’m so happy for you, all the ridicule and bashing you had to endure from your own community you stood firm. Congrats you deserve it. Equal rights sell off,” addicted2angel noted.

“Eyyy all the beating and backlash was worth it,” chanzi_thesensei, said in commending her, while tevin_22 added:  “Waiting to hear Bounty Killa’s take on this 😂😂😂”.

However, _sabrina_campbell__ pointed that some of the persons now praising Ishawna were mere wagonists.

“Unu move member unu same one spray water pon her when she a perform love this for you ishy ❤️❤️,” she said.