The Killer in the early days

Shabba shows Seaview stardom, Bounty Killer continues his experience from the early days until present

Bounty Killer

YESTERDAY we ended when he ran out of lyrics in his first 'performance' in Riverton. Today, he tells about his first clash, taking deejaying seriously in the second of this seven-part series interview with Melville Cooke. The first part appeared in yesterday's Gleaner.

We pick up with the laughter about the 'one lyrics' still echoing in the tape recorder.

BK: Yea. An stay so now go an mek anadda ting now, name "when I was a yute I live dung de gully" an come back an tek de place now an im (Bounty indicates a bredren) now a tell me bout one name Dutty Dog - a Dirty Dog a de firs likkle deejay a Riverton an him come fi competition cause a him place me come tek. Cause me live a Callaloo Bed an him live a Riverton, but a Riverton everyting gwaan. So we come a Riverton an get de whole a de hype now de man bring competition. An me haffi wax im dung quick. So from dem time deh now we always know of competition, because a de likkle ting go - mi live up desso an yu live dung desso. Clash always start.

So when Beenie come wid clash him wouldn' even know sey we buil pon clash. De fus turf mi tek mi haffi clash an tek it. Yea, so a dem time deh now we stay so an start. Yea, an we jus have it as a community ting. We neva have it as a talent, like suppen wey can happen fi wi. Cause dem time deh we no look up to deejay an all dat. Deejay wasn't no big role model bou ya. Deejay was some idle man whe no have nutten fi do an some man whe caan read. Yu understan? Cause deejay neva used to put so much words an vocab ina de music. Dey used to use regular rhyme - every deejay come bawl back de same rhyme.

MC: Mmmm. 'Siddung pon de riddim like a tire pon a rim' an dem vibe deh.

BK: Yea. So deejay used to soun like dem mentality or dem vocab deh pon a certain level, so yu can sey deejay people a dis. A no like now, when yu see people wid dem PhD an dem college degree a artiste. Yea. So yu jus haffi know sey dis ting ya is a wide range a ting an is people an dem own perspective. So a dat now - dem time deh me neva have dis ting as a trade. Me jus do it an hussle pon de side. A figurine me use to mek, wall plaque, an mi madda used to make pillow an do dressmakin an dem ting deh, yu nuh. So a dem ting deh we used to do an deejay wen we feel like. We wouldn't even deejay every week. We jus deejay when a vibe hit we. Sometimes you hungry an suffarin an ting, yu wouldn' even feel fi deejay ya now. Sometimes yu figat all fi how deejay inna de ghetto. Cause yu deh pon some diffarent tings. An dem time deh a Supacat, John Wayne, Tulloh T, Pampidoo, Junior Reid as de hot singer, an dem man deh - nobady neva rich. Is jus poor yute, suffarin yute, whe jus a try a ting. Yu undastan? An de time deh produca used to jus rip off artiste. So dat was a ting when people a try get inna it. It used to set like yu cyaan mek no money, produca haffi rob yu. A dat artiste used to prepare fa. Before we bus every man used to sey ('kisses' teet), 'bway, betta yu jus tek a rob an bus an den yu can decide.' To 'ow de business did set dem time deh, every artiste haffi prepare sey bway, yu haffi tek rob firs. Even Harder They Come (the movie) yu no see Jimmy Cliff go bad up de produca an beat im up fi im money?

MC: Yea, dem time deh.

BK: Okay. An dat was (he punches the next three words) Jimmy Cliff's day. So yu know di 90s an de 80s--

MC: Wickeda!

BK: Is de worst! It lead to mature corruption. Yea, so a dat now, we neva a look up to dis ting like suppen whe coulda happen. A when Shabba burst now--

MC: Shabba change nuff tings.

BK: Ninja Man an' Shabba, cause - Ninja did bus, but yu neva see like money same way, yu neva see no money, yu jus see hype. When Shabba burst --

MC: Yu see tings a gwaan--

BK: Yea, cause Stitchie an dem man deh get likkle signing, but we still no feel it. (His voice changes, his words get heavy with significance). When Shabba burst now, an Shabba come back a Seaview an we see our Shabba how him look like a bran' new man, an we see tree Benz an we see bare Rolex an we see some big rich man whe look like some ol' President a come dung ya, we a sey (Bounty's voice goes up - way up) 'Lord God--.

MC: (Laughing) A really de same man dis whe wi know?

BK: Yea! So we realise sey dis now a stardom! We start see stardom.

MC: Yea, yea.

BK: So dem time deh me live a Seaview now, cause mi come a Seaview from Riverton come get shot. An live a Seaview.

MC: What sorta age yu move?

BK: Well, me move from Riverton inna '85. An come get shot '86. An mek de song name 'from a man back him gun yu fi run. No wait till 'im bus a shot yu a run'. (Bounty breaks into deejay style): 'From a man back him gun an yu no have fi yu own, pick up yu han --.. an run, copper shot, memba me tell oonu trus dat--' cause is a live - is a experience y'nuh, fi get shot, y'nuh.

MC: So how long yu write 'Copper Shot' before yu record it?

BK: Copper Shot was written like right afta mi get shot. Inna '87, like a year later.

MC: So yu mean is like five year Copper Shot siddung fah?

BK: Yea. Cause Copper Shot is a real story. Is not really a lyrics, is suppen whe happen aroun' me. Suppen whe reach me. Cause my lyrics was like 'when I was a yute mi live dung di gully', cause from early wi a write bout we experince, whe we live.

MC: No shame no inna dis.

BK: Yea. We jus' feel proud. My madda teach me a ting - ben yu min to yu condition, so yu cyaan shame a yuself. A you dat. Yu haffi express yuself to people (Richie Stevens murmurs a harmonised agreement). So a dat now, me always a sing bout when I was a yute I live dung de gully, den mi start sing (he transforms into the deejay again) sey is 'de gunning, a long time it fi done, cause if yu love yu life mi fren yu woulda puddung di gun, a de gun y'know mek so much man skin get bun, a de gun y'nuh--' Dem time deh Baby Wayne jus burst now, an we start deejay like Baby Wayne. Dem style yah. Baby Wayne bring een dem style yah. Ninja Man an' Baby Wayne response fi all style. I don't know if deejays really know bout de whole scientifical ting of dis music, dancehall. Baby Wayne an Ninja Man response fi every style, di whole a de style dem whe we a use, a Baby Wayne an Ninja Man own. (MC sticks in 'so man cyaan cuss no man sey--' but the Killer is on a roll.)

Cobra come wid some too. Cobra have a whole heap a style whe him come wid too. Only true him used to soun like Ninja, people hear him an believe a Ninja style, but Cobra come wid some tings too. But only true im used to soun like Ninja a man woulda sey 'im soun like Ninja' an a gi Ninja seh a fi him ting too. But Cobra might be jus' have dat soun. But at de time im did a use im owna ting. Cause tell yu what, Ninja Man couldn' control de range. Cobra was de master a de range, cause im go a voice trainin an im have de vocab an him know de musical skill. Cause when im sey (the Bounty becomes the snake in an uncanny moment) 'me tell dem yush, cause dat a bad man--' - de highes' note dat 'im eva hol. Pon de same riddim de whe yu bus pon Richie.

RS: Yea man, mi rememba di riddim man.

BK: De whole a oonu bus de same '92 deh. Yea. Dem time deh im masta de range, but Ninja Man create it, so people swear blin a Ninja Man ting. Like Beenie Man bite up some a me ting an gwaan like im masta dem, an people good a believe sey a fi him own. A dats why me an him come competitive, cause we haffi sekkle di score.

The interview continues tomorrow in The Gleaner with: The Jammy's era, Specs-Shang, the reason for the gun tunes, New York, Bounty 'catches up' with Natty Morgan, self-confidence and 'Roots, Reality and Culture'.

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