Dancehall Artist Rytikal Arrested And Charged For Illegal Gun Possession
East Syde’s rising Dancehall star Rytikal was arrested and charged for the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition at 8 Miles, Bull Bay yesterday. The singer is now the third popular Dancehall artist to be placed before the Courts on gun charges in the last four months.
Rytikal, whose real name is Ryan McFarlane, reportedly spent the night in a jail cell at the Bull Bay Police Station. Checks with his East Syde Records management team confirmed that the deejay was still in custody today but they were tight-lipped with the details. “We already have a lawyer in place to deal with the situation,” a representative from East Syde Records told DancehallMag.
The Constabulary Communication Unit today also confirmed that the artist had been arrested and later charged. A report from the Elleston Road Police said cops were on patrol in 8 Miles, Bull Bay in St. Andrew around midday yesterday, when Rytikal was seen acting in a manner that aroused their suspicion.
The 25-year-old singer was questioned, had his car searched and a Taurus .380 pistol with twelve rounds of ammunition was found, according to the release.
One source told DancehallMag that Rytikal was hanging out at a business establishment in the community when the cops swooped down. “Is like a set up ting, dem surround the car, search it and find a strap inna the deejay car,” the source said.
In 2017, Rytikal joined the independent East Syde Records, which is also home to Skillibeng. He eventually grabbed attention last year with King Ina War. The hard-hitting single, which has 1.5 million views on YouTube, includes lyrics like “di way mi beat di old .38” in its hook.
His other hits are Galaxy Brain, My World, and Cookie Jar.
US-based Dancehall singer Kranium, who recently collaborated with the young star on the Block Traffic single and video, showed his support today on Twitter, writing “Free Rytikal”.
Free Rytikal ✊#faith
— Kranium (@therealkranium) January 29, 2021
Earlier this week, Rytikal was critical of the recent upsurge in violence in Jamaica.
“I do really violent music and mi ah tell yu, mi feel a way with some of the things mi a hear more time, homeless people ah get chop up, old people ah get shot, the savagery of the violence really tun up…is like it a get worse bredda, is a new low the man dem ah carry it to,” Rytikal told DancehallMag while promoting his upcoming mixtape.
Rytikal is the third popular Dancehall deejay to be arrested and charged for the illegal possession of a firearm in the last four months. Laden was sentenced to four years in prison on gun charges, after his arrest in October following a police chase. Tommy Lee Sparta was arrested in December after the discovery of an illegal Glock pistol when the police stopped his vehicle in New Kingston. He returns to court on February 3.