Veteran producer Colin “Iley” Dread says he has not received a single penny from one of dancehall’s biggest international crossover moments, and the people around him are now pushing him toward a lawsuit.
The Kings of Kings boss claims he invested in the Coolie Dance riddim, helped select the beat, and personally pushed it to disc jockeys around the world, yet walked away with nothing.
The riddim is no small footnote. Its biggest moment came when Nina Sky’s “Move Ya Body” climbed to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the early 2000s, turning a Jamaican dancehall rhythm into a global radio staple.
While that success reportedly generated serious money, Iley says his pockets stayed empty the entire time.
“I did not make a penny,” he said plainly. “I cannot give something out of nothing.”
At the center of the dispute is a verbal agreement Iley claims he had with producer Cordel “Skatta” Burrell, who created the riddim.
Iley says Skatta told him directly what publishing percentage he would receive, and he remembers it clearly, but no written contract exists to back that up. “Skatta verbally told me the percentage that I would get. I remember it as clearly as ABC,” he said.
The absence of paperwork could seriously complicate any legal case. Iley himself admitted that in the early days, many people in the industry operated on trust and handshakes rather than signed agreements.
“A lot of us in the early days were thinking more with our hearts than our brains,” he said, adding that he should have been more careful about getting things in writing.
Skatta Burrell has not publicly responded to the allegations, and there has been no independent verification of Iley’s claims. The precise ownership and contractual structure behind the riddim have not been established.
What makes the story more complicated is that the fallout has not just been financial. Iley says some artists now refuse to work with him because they believe he profited from Coolie Dance and never shared the money with those involved.
“There are people who don’t even speak with me because they feel like I deprived them,” he said. The irony is painful: he is being blamed for doing exactly what he says was done to him.
“Even people who love the riddim are reluctant to voice on the new riddim because they feel I did not break bread,” he added.
He pushed back hard on that idea, saying he would never be selfish enough to withhold money from the people who helped build something he describes as “the biggest juggling of all time.
The emotional toll has clearly been real. Iley said he reached a point of wanting to give up entirely, feeling “lost, broken and disappointed.” He also reflected on the personal cost of his investment in the music business, money he said he could have spent on his own children.
Despite all of that, he has not fully closed the door on Skatta. His manager apparently told him recently that he is “too naïve” for still expecting his former associate to come through.
Iley did not entirely disagree, but he said he still cannot believe Skatta would leave him with absolutely nothing after everything they built together.
“Even if it’s not exactly what we discussed and agreed, I don’t think Skatta would have the heart not to give me anything at all,” he said.
He also recalled being told that Skatta, early in their relationship, had spoken about stepping out of Iley’s shadow and making his own name. Iley says he supported that.
“I wanted to see him strive and prosper. I’m happy for his success,” he said, before adding that there should come a point where Skatta acknowledges what Iley contributed.
Multiple people have urged Iley to take the matter to court, but he says no decision has been made. “It should never be money over morality.
It should never be vanity over humanity,” he said, framing the dispute in terms that go beyond a simple royalties argument.
In the meantime, he is moving forward with a 31st anniversary celebration for Kings of Kings at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in Jamaica, where he also plans to launch a new album.
He has invited artists from across the label’s history, including some who recorded on Coolie Dance, to be part of the event. “I’m finding back the courage to relaunch the label,” he said.
The anniversary party is set, the album is coming, and the legal question is still very much open.
