A 'Killer' interview

Bounty Killer

Love him, hate him, you can't ignore him. Everyone seems to have an opinion on Bounty Killer, the 'Warlord' himself. And that was before Reggae Sumfest 2001. The deejay proved his stamina in a near three-hour interview with Melville Cooke, which began and ended with his upcoming 36-track CD, 'Ghetto Dictionary', which is slated for a November release. In between? Dancehall, hip-hop, politics, Callaloo Bed, Seaview, Sumfest, Shabba, Richie Stevens, Border Clash, Sting, payola, charts, the Grammy, Natty Morgan, Lexxus, Sizzla, Baby Cham, Mr. Vegas, Merciless ­ and Beenie Man. Lots of Beenie Man. Lots and lots of Beenie Man. In The Gleaner and The Star, the Poor People's Governor tells it as only he can, sometimes relaxed, sometimes intense. But always focused. Part one appeared in The Sunday Gleaner. Part four in yesterday's Star.

MC: Mi waan move offa di music likkle bit, cause mi have one an two tings mi really waan ask yu. As 'The Poor People's Governor', seen, yu tink yu would a eva go inna politics? Repr...

BK: (Answers so quickly and firmly that my last words are unnecessary). Never. Can never. Cause politics have certain policies, y'nuh. Yu haffi use certain tings against de people dem. Like poverty - that is a formula. Political strategy.

MC: So is dem man deh create it den.

BK: They don't really create it, but they enhance it. You understan? Cause poverty created from (he pauses)...whe yu would a call it now...dependence, people a depend pon people. An people who don cya (don't care) an people who no really waan uplif demself. Yu know how much yute dem madda sen dem go a good school an dem drop out an come tun sluggard? Yu tink sey a poverty? Nah!

MC: Dem coulda do betta.

BK: A non-ambition dat. A non-ambitious, yu understan. Yu have some people dem waan try betta but dem jus grow an born an less fortunate, cause dem people did don cya, so dem born inna don cya situation, an fi dem pickney come come inna don cya situation. And if somebody inna dat family no realise dats how dem tradition come, de whole family jus come don cya. An dem people ya now come an depen' pon politician fi help dem or come do suppen fi dem, so de politician use dat gainst dem. Cause tell yu what, me used to be a yute whe used to run backa politics one time when me live a Seaview, an Riverton City. We used to love politics, cause dem time deh we see like it necessary fi inna politics, cause when time de MP come an sey 'bway, we ago gi weh dis an' we ago gi weh dat' we interested. An if yu no come an participate, de area leada a go sey 'all oonu switch y'nuh, an we no see oonu a meetin y'nuh rey rey'. An if mi did have mi job, an me house, an me future, yu tink nobody can tell ne bout noh come, cause yu nah go get dis? Notice every yute whe elevate from outa de ghetto. Dem no inna politics again. Even some big area leada. Him try fi hol a neutral situation inna society now. But mos a dem dweet because of de needs. An de politician know dat. If yu come an eliminate ghetto, who yu a go have fi come a meetin? Me a go have mi computa fi go check mi stocks (The Killer does a typing motion on a 'laptop'), an you ago have you book fi write down yu scripts or yu notes whe yu waan go ask Killa, or yu ago have yu book fi go study yu schoolwork, or yu haffi go do someting. Everbody ago have dem occupation an dem job an dem future fi tink bout.

MC: An naa watch nutten.

BK: Nobody naa go tink politics an vote. An mi ago have mi house. Mi nah go waan fight yu, an dead lef mi house. Mi nah go waan fight politics, an dead lef mi pickney dem. But when yu a suffa, yu not even a see dem ting deh.

MC: Yu jus want a way out.

BK: Yeah, yu jus want a way out. Cause when dem come an sey (his voice changes and a startlingly good imitation comes out ­ complete with hand gestures) 'Fundamentally rey rey' yu ago believe inna it, cause yu no have no hope. When yu have yu own hopes, yu no hear whe dem sey y'nuh man. Right now me no hear when politician speak, y'nuh. Cause me done know whe me want already an dem cyaan sey nutten fi change my riches y'nuh, or my success y'nuh. And dem cyaan sey nutten fi help it. So we no need fi hear whe dem a sey. A poor people whe a look a likkle help an a look a hope inna Jamaica a listen when de Govament a talk. But no hope no deh deh. So a dat de people dem fi know right now, sey no hope no deh an dem man deh nah create no hope. Dem haffi hol oonu inna dat position so dem can get oonu attention.

MC: So like how Antoinette Haughton form a new party, yu tink dat a go mek a difference?

BK: I hope it makes a difference, cause we need new politicians still. Yu understan? An I don't think its PNP or JLP or NDM ago tek dis country from dis stage. Cause we have seen it. Yu understan? I think we need a nex party, we need to give somebody a try. Yu understan?

MC: Yu eva vote yet?

BK: No.

MC: Yu eva enumerate yet?

BK: I enumerate once and they rob me in Harbour View, an tief my ID, an me no badda enumerate again.

MC: Yu done wid dat.

BK: Yea, me no worry wid dat. Mi no need fi count. Me is a one man agains' Jamaica.

MC: In terms of de ting whe gwaan a Tivoli, would you eva do a tune about dat?

BK: No, I don't wanna highlight that to the world. (He pauses for a call on the 'cellie'). Yea, me no really waan go sing bout dat, cause tell yu what now, my songs dem represent dat already. Yu understan? Earlier on last year we put out a song called (here comes Bounty doing George Nooks) 'tribal war we no want no more...' with seven of us. We no haffi wait... de fittest song fi play afta dat was Tribal War. And we neva sang dat song because of a situation that particular happen. We just sang that song tru our experiences and tragedies ova de years. Cause we have seen it all de time. We no wait fi some people dead fi start tell de people dem dat. A long time Bounty Killer a tell de people dem dat (he goes into deejay mode again) 'war a no nice suppen, when war bruck out innocent people missin, man oonu fi lissen, an learn yu lesson, work hard inna life an inherit some blessin, no follow bad company an I Mack 11, brag an a boas sey it shine an glisten...' Beenie Man pirate it (he sings again) 'Matie a no good sitten, mate a hallibutton'. Dat a first song Beenie pirate. De second one he stole (he does Beenie) 'mama yu son a go die...' (and then Bounty) 'from a spy dat fi die...' Yea. Den him come an tief dat. A dat cause me an Beenie differences.

MC: From '93 come up. Is not much cause di difference.

BK: No sah. Is jus dat Beenie don like admit facts. Yu see Beenie go an disrespect Reggae Sumfest an dancehall an him career wid de Grammy status as a big internationally acclaimed artiste? He should never carry a action like that.

MC: Hear waapen. Mi waan get into Sumfest, but me waan get into dat... (His words and mine overlap as he says...)

BK: Okay. Well, we no haffi dwell pon it. We no haffi dwell pon it. Is jus a suggestion.

Coming in tomorrow's Star, part six.

Back to Entertainment