St. Kitts artiste Byron Messia was slapped with a copyright claim, resulting in his international hit song “Talibans” being removed from YouTube.
In early 2023, the Kittitian artiste faced criticism after he released Talibans. Music enthusiasts compared the song to a single titled “Big Guns” by dancehall artiste Jeff Fullyauto. Citing the comparisons in flow and rhythm, many Jamaicans bashed Byron for copying Jeff Fullyauto’s musical style. Jeff Fullyauto also spoke out about the song, accusing Byron of stealing his flow.
On the international stage, the song received widespread praise, earning Byron global recognition. Talibans debuted on several music charts, peaking at No. 75 on the Irish Singles chart, No. 12 on the UK Singles chart, No. 18 on the Nigeria Hot 100 chart, and 21 on Germany’s Urban/Hip-hop chart. Talibans also peaked at No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
As the song continued to rack up streams and enter various charts, Talibans was certified silver in the United Kingdom when sales and streaming equivalents surpassed 200,000 units. Additionally, Talibans earned a gold certification in Canada for sales and streaming equivalent to surpassing 40,000 units.
The hit song earned Byron a collaboration with Afrobeats heavyweight Burna Boy, leading to the creation of Talibans II. Byron’s success with the Talibans did not end there, as he also won three awards at the 41st IRAWMA. He won Best New Entertainer, the original Talibans won Best Crossover Song, and Taliban II (featuring Burna Boy) won Best Music Video.
However, Byron is now facing the consequences of a copyright claim filed by Jeff Fullyauto. Byron took to social media on Wednesday to share the song’s removal and respond to critics. In posts he shared in his Instagram Story, Byron wrote, “God Alone Knows” and “Unuh Win.”
The posts featured screenshots of the removed music video on YouTube and a one-week notice from the streaming platform. The alert notified Byron that the video would be removed due to a complaint filed by Jeffrey Grant, otherwise known as Jeff Fullyauto. The music video for Talibans II featuring Burna Boy was also removed.
Another post revealed that Jeff Fullyauto presented the opportunity for Byron to resolve the issue before the video was removed. This post featured Byron trolling the deejay as a clown for reporting his video.
