Steely’s Son Takes Over Father’s Estate Amid Reggaeton Copyright Battle

Shea Johnson has officially assumed the role of executor for his father, Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson’s estate, replacing his late sister Anika Johnson.

Steely, who died in 2009 in East Patchogue, New York, was an innovative composer and producer who influenced reggae and dancehall music for over two decades. Best known as one-half of the duo Steely & Clevie, alongside Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne, Johnson was behind many iconic songs and rhythms, including the Fish Market which is better known for its use in Shabba Ranks’ hit song, Dem Bow.  A copyright case now in its fourth year alleges that over 1,800 Reggaeton songs have illegally incorporated elements from Fish Market without proper licensing or compensation.

Court records obtained by DancehallMag reveal that Anika Johnson, appointed as personal representative of her father’s estate in 2016, passed away in November 2023 at age 42 due to diabetes-related heart complications. Following her death, Shea Johnson was named as her successor.

On February 7, 2025, Steely & Clevie Productions’ legal team filed a motion to officially substitute Shea Johnson as a plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit. The defendants, including high-profile artists like Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Drake, and Justin Bieber, did not oppose the motion by the February 14 deadline. Subsequently, Judge André Birotte Jr. approved Shea Johnson’s substitution on February 26.

“Shea was born in Jamaica but lives in the United States. We needed another beneficiary to represent the estate,” Cleveland Browne, 65, explained to DancehallMag. “Even without that, I would have continued. But for Steely’s estate to benefit, there had to be a representative, so the judge ruled that Shea could step in as plaintiff.”

Court documents show that Shea Johnson is a licensed property and auto appraiser based in New York, while Anika was an Operations Support Officer in Jamaica. The late producer Steely had five children, including Shea and Anika. His other children are Daniel Johnson, a professional football player in the UK; Shanice Johnson, a social work clinical coordinator in New York; and Cailon Johnson, an airport ramp agent in the UK.

According to court records, all siblings agreed that Shea Johnson should serve as the estate’s executor. In an Amended Oath of Administration filed in Jamaica’s Supreme Court on September 25, 2024, Shea confirmed this consensus, stating: “My siblings have given both verbal and written consent for me to make this application. Filed in this honorable court is a copy of the consent signed by my sister, Shanice Brittney Johnson.”

The lawsuit is spearheaded by four plaintiffs: Steely & Clevie Productions, the company that manages the duo’s repertoire; Cleveland Browne; Shea Johnson as executor of Steely’s estate; and Carl Gibson, a Jamaican who is executor of producer Ephraim “Count Shelly” Barrett’s estate.

According to the suit, Count Shelly played a key role in creating one of the earliest derivative versions of Fish Market. Shelly had reportedly instructed musician Denis Halliburton, known as “Dennis the Menace,” to produce an instrumental version of Shabba Ranks’ Dem Bow. This instrumental, called the Pounder Riddim, served as the foundation for Nando Boom’s Ellos Benia , a Spanish rendition of Dem Bow released under Count Shelly’s Shellys Records label. The Pounder Riddim later became widely sampled in Reggaeton music in subsequent years.

Count Shelly passed away in 2020 at the age of 88.