Spragga Benz Said He Was Tricked Into Becoming A Dancehall ‘Gyallis’
Spragga Benz, one of the artistes who was proudly ranked and praised by Foota Hype in October 2019 as one of Dancehall’s top womanizers, says he now realizes that he was tricked into becoming a ‘gyallis’.
Just over a year ago, Foota Hype in one of his live Instagram sessions, revealed what he said was the honor list comprising the names of the Dancehall artistes whom he said had the most women in the history of Jamaica’s music industry, the top five being Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Ninjaman and Spragga Benz.
But on Monday, Spragga, now 51 years old, expressed regret about his past actions, noting that he had become more enlightened. In an Instagram post he noted that: “it is poor spiritual hygiene to give everyone access to you”.
“Overstand… I say We got duped to be gyalst … in reality a man who masters control of his sexual urges, his appetite and if he is Black and also reads with understanding is a most dangerous blackman,” the Jack it Up artiste further explained.
In October 2019, Foota, in putting Spragga and his other four compatriots on a pedestal, had said the artistes were extreme with what he described as their “gyallis behavior” and ceremoniously dubbed them the “Top Five genna inna gyallis ting”.
“Wi naw talk bout jus gyallis. Wi a talk bout top a di ting…Dem man yah deal wid gyal ting like joke. Elephant Man, Bounty Killa, Beenie Man, Spragga Benz, a di top five dem deh…di top five fi me, weh mi know bout… dem man deh go di hardest,” Foota had said as he heaped praises on the quintet.
“Mi naw talk bout man weh have whole heap a gyal enuh. Mi a talk bout gyallis weh buck di level,” he added, even as he boasted of his own womanizing ways over the years.
Spragga is well-known for his sexually charged lyrics, and his promotion of multiple partners in songs such as Bedroom Slaugheration with Vybz Kartel, which was incidentally recorded on the Panty Raid riddim, as well as Huntin, Guns and Girls and Ganja, Could Ah Deal and Backshot, a collab with Lady Saw.
His first album was titled Jack it Up which was released by VP Records in June 1994, with the title track also being another explicit production with lyrics centered on rough bedroom activity, advising men to show no tenderness to women in the bedroom, and to according to an excerpt from the song, “treat them tough like a stone wall” .
On Monday some of Spragga’s fans marveled at the fact that he appeared to have had an epiphany.
“Yoooo. Is this spragga? I hope now that we are all mature we can change the narrative and teach the yute the truth and the importance of a strong black family the biggest problem we have moving forward is having respect for our women and family,” seanpressure wrote.
Spragga’s about-turn is a far cry from his stance at Footloose in Kingston last February, where he told the women in attendance at the show that it was only natural for men to want to pursue other women, and urged them to have some faith in their men and not retaliate when they find out they are unfaithful.
“Yuh know say nothing nuh easy inna life and yuh man a go gi yuh bun, face it, nuh bother gi him back none,” Spragga had said.