Bounty Killer Talks New Album And ‘Verzuz’ Tour With Beenie Man
Dancehall legend Bounty Killer has hinted that a new album and a ‘Verzuz’ tour might be in the works with fellow entertainer, Beenie Man.
The May 23 Verzuz Battle has been ranked one of the best since the series began and created over a billion impressions total from fans, almost 500,000 of which flocked to Instagram Live to watch the two veterans battle it out.
Speaking during an interview with Judith Bodley on CVM Television, Bounty Killer said he was considering, first, a Caribbean tour for the Bounty vs. Beenie Verzuz battle once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
“People are encouraging the Verzuz tour. They want me and Beenie to go on tour. It would be good to do a Caribbean tour first. That’s what I’d want to do first to make the world see what they’ve been missing, so that’s where we think we’re going to go first.”
A lot of good things have also come out of the battle for him as well, like he’s been getting calls from major players in the genre, and his streams have shot up.
Even so, the coronavirus has affected his plans negatively, and some of the things that he would like to have done would now have to be pushed to 2021, he continued.
“One of those things is I’m working on an album as the last album came out was 2002, The Ghetto Dictionary, that’s been nominated for a Grammy, so it’s been 18 years, 20 years I haven’t put out an album.”
One of the reasons for the long hiatus is because he lost his visa to perform in the US, he explained. He said because he is an artist that likes to tour when he puts out an album, he hasn’t focused on producing another one since then.
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Bounty added that even though he has support around the world, the US was where the biggest market was, and that’s why it’s necessary for him to be able to perform there for his career to flourish.
Bounty said he would continue his charity work and added he’s looking forward to a bumper 2021, especially if he and Beenie Man are granted access to tour the US.
Bounty on why the Verzuz battle was so good for dancehall
Bounty said that he didn’t believe that the Verzuz battle was a clash, however, because it was really just two selectors choosing their own music but he did add that the experience was fun. “It’s not really a deejay clash, it’s a sound system thing,” he said.
He praised the format for helping families come together to enjoy good music as Jamaica continues to fight against the deadly coronavirus.
“It’s a family-oriented thing because you know this IG thing it in ah yuh bedroom and everybody quarantine so you know young, older, elderly ah go tune in, you know,” he said.
He added that the Verzuz battle was “the most important thing to happen to dancehall” for 2020. He said this was because of the platform used and the fact that 500, 000 people have never viewed dancehall at the same time in the history of the genre.
“The impact of dancehall has never reached 500, 000 people at one time, the effect. That’s why it became euphoria.”
Since the battle Bounty shared that his followers had gone up, and a lot of them were not the typical fans of dancehall. “It was something really, really impactful around the world for dancehall,” he continued.