Mr. Vegas Implores Nicki Minaj To “Fix Things” After ‘Megatron’ Sample

Insisting that Nicki Minaj’s Megatron was inspired by his hit song Heads High, Mr. Vegas has lashed out again at the rapper for denying him what he says is his publishing rights on her song which was released in 2019.

On Friday morning Vegas took aim at Minaj, in an hour-long Instagram video, where he implored her to “fix things”.

“Mi jus nuh like har again from dat people, nd mi used to love har… Mi used to like har, but mi realize seh shi want mi pickney dem dead fi hungry. Yuh caan cut mi outta Megatron; you a eediat sista? Yuh mad?” Vegas said.

“Mi willing fi forgive yuh becaw mi like yuh – one time.  But yuh haffi fix tings, else mi a guh start big up Cardi B straight an mek it it bun yuh.  Until Cardi B meck di same mistake, an mi know shi naw guh dweet.  Right now a Cardi B mi ting deh… In Cardi B I trust,” he added.

Megatron, which debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent five non-consecutive weeks on that chart, had sampled Danny Browne’s Filthy riddim, which the Main Street producer had released in 1998.

“ Heads High was possibly the biggest song on it [Filthy Riddim], but then again there was [General Degree’s] Traffic Blocking ,” Brown told the Jamaica STAR in 2019. “The ’90s was one of those times in our history where our music was so different. Everybody wanted to mimic what we were doing.”

The riddim spawned other hit tracks such as Beenie Man’s Let Him Go and Lady G’s Breeze Off , but according to Mr. Vegas, Minaj herself had admitted publicly, that Megatron was inspired by his Heads High.

“Don’t tell mi seh Nicki Minaj a guh do Megatron if she neva hear Heads High, and mi can prove it to yuh seh a Heads High influence Megatron becaw she said it on her iTunes podcast or whatever shi do.  She said it was Heads High that inspired Megatron.   Suh as soon as yuh hear di riddim, a Heads High jump inna yuh mind,” Vegas argued.

“Sista Nicki Minaj, Sister Nicki.  Yuh likkle fans dem weh deh pon di internet or yuh nuff nuff fans pon di internet a bully people, dem nuh know nuttn bout dis… Our pension is our publishing.  Wi nuh sell like oonu fi have big royalty cheques a come een. Wi nuh have no record label behind wi…,” he added.

Vegas also sought to implicitly hammer Browne, arguing that it was not only the producer who ought to have been paid royalties but that he, as an artist, should also get a piece of the pie. He said Filthy attracted Micki Minaj’s attention, because of Heads High, its melodies, and its lyrics, and that, among other things Heads High and Filthy were a part of “one composition” which was used to create Megatron.

Vegas also decried the modus operandi of producers profiting whenever an artist’s lyrics are sampled and artists not being extended the same courtesy when producers’ riddims are sampled, labeling this as “bad business practice”.

“Di moment mi come out pon di original cut – me a part a di composition. Mi a like di guitar; mi a like di keyboard.  Me is a part a di composition.  Suh if somebaddy fi sample di riddim, if five a wi deh pon di riddim, mek di whola wi eat. Prorate it meck every man eat.  Yuh si.  Or when dem sample di artiste dem alone, don’t stretch yuh han,” Vegas said.

“Do not stretch yuh han becaw di artiste dem come wid dem song.  You had yuh riddim; di artiste dem have dem song.   Suh why you a stretch your han when dem ongle sample di artiste?  Like when Jay Z use Heads High melody, di producer fi Heads High want a cut.  When Black Eye Peas use Heads High di producer want a  cut… all a di people dem weh use Heads High, 90 percent a dem don’t use  di riddim.  Because is di song dem love; di melody,” he added.

A while later, Vegas posted a copy of an email dated September 15, 2021, relating to Minaj’s representative’s response to the royalties “claim” that he had submitted. The email stated that “the other publishers listed on the registration do not agree that Mr. Vegas should have a share. I can’t do anything with it if the other publishers won’t recognize Mr Vegas”.

He then used his caption to outright slam Minaj as well as her ‘Barbz’ who rebuked him yesterday, after he described Minaj and Drake as being Dancehall ‘culture vultures’, while giving props to rapper Cardi B, to whose Passa Passa Dancehall-themed birthday party he had performed a few nights ago.

“Again! Fcuk all samplers of reggae music who blocks the artistes share. How can an artiste not acknowledge another artiste rights? Fvuk you and your trolls! #megatron #headshigh #onecomposition,” Vegas wrote.

Vegas also ripped into Minaj pointing out that she has consistently behaved like an opportunist.

“Yuh fans dem coulda come beat mi kill mi and talk out seh yuh do remix wid Skillibeng an Willibeng an Tillibeng and Fillibeng. Yuh coulda remix until yuh blue. No yuh try box food outta Vegas mouth, no, no no, no.  Nicki Minaj come fix tings.. come talk truth  weh yuh get Megatron from?  What inspired Megatron?  Oh wi don’t need yuh still becaw wi have yuh recording cause yuh seh a it inspire you – Heads High,” he said.

“All dem likkle remix deh weh yuh do, come on a choo di song dem buss aready, yuh jump pon dem.  Memba?  Yuh neva want jump pon Gyptian song.  Yuh a get 25 thousand fi jump pon it according to information and yuh neva jump pon it till it buss,” he said. “So come on, yuh have a track record fi jump pon song weh buss – Mi naw beat yuh pon dat still becaw is still a good look…Fix tings Miss Minaj, fix tings.”

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