Second singer complains song used on campaign trail

BAD luck seems to be following the United National Congress (UNC) candidate for Toco/Sangre Grande, Nabila Greene.

She is the second political candidate hit with a pre-action protocol letter from a soca artiste claiming unauthorised use and non-payment.

Over the past weeks Greene, 29, has had to face attempts at extortion and fend off allegations that she was the scantily dressed woman being showered with money by a man in a video which was widely circulated on social media.

An Arouca man appeared before an Arima magistrate charged with harassment and attempting to extort $80,000 from Greene.

A soca artiste is now accusing Greene of the unauthorised use of his intellectual property for her campaign.

Ooron Le Blanc, a Soca reggae dancehall artiste from Valencia, whose stage name is Trinidad Mad Man, wants $200,000 in compensation from Greene. Through his attorney Rajkumar Teelucksingh, Le Blanc has sent a pre-action protocol letter asking her to stop or face legal action.

Point Fortin mayor and People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate Kennedy Richards Jr got a similar letter from Trinidad Killa, who accused Richards of the unauthorised use of his song Dyy Zess for his campaign.

Richards has since denied the claim.

In the letter to Greene, Teelucksingh said Le Blanc forwarded her a demo of one of his trending songs, Married ah Orange, reworked as a UNC campaign song encouraging voters to vote for “Aunty Kamla”

Le Blanc said Greene said she would forward it to the party’s PRO Anita Haynes to see if the party was interested in the song and would enter into a contract for its use. However, he said that was not done.

In the letter, Teelucksingh wrote that Greene “proceeded to use the demo on a UNC campaign music truck in Valencia, Matura and Sangre Grande...as a campaign tool."

He said attempts to meet her to settle the matter was met arepsonse "that is not becoming of a political candidate.”

Nevertheless, he said if she wishes to continue to use the song, she is free to enter into a contractual agreement with Le Blanc.

Calls to the cell phones of both Haynes and Greene were not answered.

Le Blanc told Newsday he understands Greene's attorney sent a legal response to his attorney asking for 14 days to respond. He said although the 14 days will fall after the August 10 election, he is unable to take any further action at this moment.

He said he was paid $6,000 for two demos he did for Greene and Pointe-a-Pierre candidate David Lee.

“I just can’t understand why they would not pay me for my work this time, “ Le Blanc said.