Grammy-Nominated Producer Bangladesh Says It Took 17 Years For Kelis To Sign Off On His Royalties For Producing ‘Bossy’

Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” Nicki Minaj’s “Did It On ’Em,” and Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade” all have one thing in common: They were produced by Bangladesh.

For over two decades, the Grammy-nominated producer has played a significant role in creating hits for Beyoncé, Rihanna, Ludacris, and more. Another star on Bangladesh’s music production resume is Kelis. In an interview, he recalls the aftermath of working with the singer.

Back in 2006, Kelis released “Bossy,” which was produced by Bangladesh. The hit single went on to become certified double platinum by the RIAA and reach No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, per That Grape Juice.

However, during Bangladesh’s guest appearance on podcast “Bag Fuel,” he shared that Kelis failed to sign off on a split sheet at the time that would pay out royalties to those who worked on the song. She didn’t do so until 2023.

He also told hosts Esso and Hynaken that he’s still waiting for the check to come in that would pay him for all the times the track has been used elsewhere.

Along with revealing Kelis was “difficult” to work with, he recounts the making of “Bossy.”

“How the record was created, I did the whole beat, so that’s already 50%,” Bangladesh explained. “So then Sean Garrett wrote the hook. Jasper and another dude wrote the verses, but [Kelis] kind of like quarterbacked it… I think the label got Too $hort on it, so the numbers, it was adding up more than 100 because she was taking a lot of it, and she ain’t do nothing.” 

He continued, “What you was asking for don’t justify the work you did. It was like you got four people on the writers’ side, and you trying to take 25% of the 50, and it’s like this n—a wrote the hook, this n—a wrote the verse. You asking for too much, and there wasn’t enough left for Too $hort.” 

Despite not receiving royalties, Bangladesh says he still cleared “Bossy” to be used in syncs, but once he stopped, it created conflict for Kelis’ income. His move then forced Kelis’ hand to sign off on clearing his royalties.

In addition, Bangladesh shares that he believes Kelis’ apparent animosity toward him is due to her alleged experience with Pharrell Williams. As previously shared by AFROTECH, she claimed that she never earned profits from her first two albums, which were produced by The Neptunes, made up of Williams and Chad Hugo.

“It’s like whatever she went through with the Pharrell thing, she’s taking it out on me,” Bangladesh expressed. “I ain’t got nothing to do with it.”

His conflict with Kelis isn’t his only run-in with split sheet issues. In 2010, he sued Lil Wayne and Cash Money Records for owing him $500,000 in unpaid royalties for “A Milli,” per The Guardian. The case went on to be settled out of court, according to a report by Pitchfork.