Shaggy has claimed Moliy, the Ghanaian-American artist behind Shake It To The Max (Fly), blocked clearance for songs that he and Sean Paul had recorded on the beat — but Moliy appeared to push back by pointing to a Sean Paul-assisted remix that is already out.
Speaking with journalist Anthony Miller at the Island Music Conference last week, the two-time Grammy winner argued that the alleged clearance issue undercut the riddim culture that has long driven Dancehall.
“[Shake It To The Max] was a big riddim. I know Sean [Paul] had a song; he was fighting over and over to try to get clearance for the song—they wouldn’t give him clearance. I had done a song on it; they wouldn’t give it clearance. And I think that hurt the industry in itself,” Shaggy said.
In Dancehall, a riddim’s success often grows with use. When a beat “runs the place,” it is usually because various artists, from A-listers to newcomers, have flooded the airwaves and streets with different interpretations of the same loop. Shaggy told Miller that the song’s producers, Silent Addy and Disco Neil, were “totally down” with that, but he claimed that Moliy did not understand the concept.
“It’s kind of gatekeeping in a way,” he said. “…I think Moliy was the one that didn’t, and she didn’t understand the culture because she’s not from the culture. So, she didn’t understand that, you know, letting everybody go on it actually makes the riddim get bigger.”
“I think at that point she probably felt a little threatened that everybody’s jumping on her song. But that’s not how the game works, especially where Jamaica is concerned,” Shaggy added.
On Saturday (February 28), Moliy responded to Shaggy’s criticism in an Instagram comments section, where she pointed users to her existing Sean Paul collaboration on the track rather than addressing his claims directly.
Shake It To The Max (Fly), which Silent Addy has described as a Dancehall track at its core, was originally released in late 2024.
The first remix, released in February 2025 with Skillibeng and Shenseea, propelled the song to No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 12 on the UK Singles chart, and Gold certifications in the US and UK.
There were four more official remixes, including the “Tuff Remix” with Sean Paul.
During the interview, Shaggy contrasted that approach with producer DJ Mac’s handling of the WYFL (Weh You Feel Like) , a popular riddim that has multiple artists voicing their own songs on it.
“I love what’s going on with that riddim. And big up to DJ Mac because he has decided to let other people use it,” Shaggy said. “…He’s breathed a breath of fresh air back to Dancehall.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the It Wasn’t Me singer admitted that while his early major label deals meant he didn’t own his masters, he’s had to “fight back” to secure his publishing.
He dismissed the idea that the younger generation has a better handle on the business side of their careers. “You would think… until they’re in a problem and start some GoFundMe,” Shaggy remarked.
