/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-JAMAICA: Bounty Killer Bouncing Back

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Howard Campbell

KINGSTON, Apr 9 2002 (IPS) - The year 2000 is one deejay Bounty Killer would want to forget in a hurry. The gangly entertainer was involved in several onstage skirmishes with rival performers, some of which saw him ending up in court.

But in December, he was recruited to appear on platinum-selling punk band No Doubt’s “Hey Baby” single, which went on to become an international hit. The self-proclaimed “poor people’s governor” is looking to cash in on his new-found acclaim with a new album and tour.

“Ghetto Dictionary” is the title of Bounty Killer’s new album, scheduled to be released May 28 by the New York City independent company, VP Records. It is a double CD, a rarity for a dancehall act, and reveals differing moods of the controversial toaster.

The first is “The Art of War” and the second “The Mystery.” The former deals with issues affecting the marginalised in Jamaica, such as a frightening crime rate that has claimed nearly 200 lives since the start of the year.

“The Mystery” is a collection of good-time songs that hears Bounty Killer revelling in fare typical of the dancehall performer, such as bedroom prowess.

“Ghetto Dictionary” is reunion of sorts for performer and record company. Their last collaboration was back in 1996 with “My Xperience” which was distributed through a joint deal with VP and the larger TVT Records; it sold a reported 200,000 copies.

“My Xperience” is Bounty Killer’s biggest seller to date and included the song, “Fed Up”, which was the soundtrack for the April, 1999 gas riots here. But though “Killer” has continued to have a flurry of hit songs locally, he has not been able to enjoy similar success in the United States.

VP Records’ marketing manager, Randy Chin, says his company is aiming to change all that.

“This is easily our biggest project so far this year,” said Chin. “We have hired a publicist to work this album solely.”

With weeks to go before the release of “Ghetto Dictionary,” Bounty Killer headed off for Europe where “Hey Baby” has sold phenomenally. The song is the lead track from the band’s “Rocksteady” album which has sold over one million copies worldwide.

“Rocksteady” was partially recorded in Jamaica where the California band recorded with Jamaican heavyweight producers, Sly and Robbie, and outrageous deejay Lady Saw.

Drummer Sly Dunbar of Sly and Robbie says Bounty Killer was not impressed when he was first approached to appear on “Hey Baby” but eventually yielded. The song went on to make the top ten of Billboard Magazine’s pop chart and gave Bounty Killer a much-needed profile internationally.

Prior to stepping into the recording studio with No Doubt, he had been involved in a series of square-offs with rival deejays. One year earlier, he was at the receiving end of a verbal clash between Merciless and longtime nemesis Beenie Man, a trade-off that carried over into 2001.

At the Reggae Sumfest show in Montego Bay in July, the trio was at it again. On the second occasion, however, fans hurled bottles at them, forcing promoters to cancel the remainder of the show that night. In October, Bounty Killer and Lady Saw were ordered by a judge to serve 240 hours of community service for their use of profanity at another show. Following his court appearance, the deejay, in a fit of rage, vowed never to perform in Jamaica again.

He had a change of heart soon after and has toned down his confrontational style since “Hey Baby’s” remarkable run.

Born Rodney Price, Bounty Killer hails from the tough Kingston community of Seaview Gardens. He first came to prominence in 1994 with the song “Intimate” and his raucous delivery made him an overnight sensation in the dancehalls, a stepping-stone for most Jamaican performers.

He continued to dominate the hardcore market with a succession of “bad boy” songs as well as others that were hard-biting commentaries. It was not long before his work struck a chord with hip-hop bigwigs like Wyclef Jean of The Fugees and rapper Busta Rhymes both of whom worked on “My Xperience.”

“My Xperience” sold strongly for a dancehall act but 200,000 copies represent a ripple in the vast American marketplace. Bounty Killer and VP will be aiming to go one better with “Ghetto Dictionary” in the coming months.