Bounty Killer Cites Bob Marley’s Shooting To Dismiss Claims That Dancehall Influences Crime
Outspoken deejay Bounty Killer recently referenced the late Bob Marley when he hit back at those suggesting Dancehall contributes to crime.
The topic resurfaced with fervor after comments made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in a parliamentary session last month. On the weekend, the Warlord flipped the question of whether a causal link exists between the two into a fitting history lesson for his 800K Instagram followers.
“How did the great legendary Bob Marley got shot in the mid 70s,” Bounty Killer asked in his Instagram caption. “Was it bcuz of musical or political influence on the ppl???”
Speaking on On Stage with Winford Williams in 2009, the ‘poor people’ advocate asked, “When since ah dancehall ah do nuttn? Inna 1980 ah dancehall artist did ah do it? Ah di political indifference an di tribal an di turf war weh dem teach di people dem,” he said, lashing out in his usual manner on the systemic failures long attributed to politicians.
He added that a “combination of things” — guns, drugs, illiteracy, unemployment and poverty — were at the root of Jamaica’s social dilemma. This grim state of affairs he says is perpetuated by the “selfsh people dem weh rich an nuh give weh nuttn an nuh help nobody.”
His fellow Dancehall deejays Charly Black, Kemar Highcon, and Chi Ching Ching agreed loudly in the comments, while Konshens added an intriguing twist to the Warlord’s query. “Ask every ghetto yute how di war start and hear wah 90% a dem tell u”, he wrote.
“Picture if you did have all ten more Bounty bout yah weh like bring people an help people an drag up people outta di trash.. How much more yutes woulda get help inna dancehall?” the Benz and Bimma deejay said.
He echoed another renowned defender of the poor, the undisputed King of Reggae Robert Nesta Marley, who on the matter of politics is quoted as saying, “Politics no interest me, dem devil business…dem play with people’s minds, never play with people’s minds.”
As polarizing as he was inspiring, Bob Marley was perceived as a threat to the status quo, and he “got shot in the mid 70s” as the Warlord put it, in a narrow escape from an assassination attempt.
The infamous incident remains unsolved, shrouded in mystery, and took place in the politically tumultuous 1970s. Internecine tensions had turned Jamaica into a warzone with rations, rifles, and dystopia being the order of the day. As elections drew near, the turmoil intensified, and Marley, the nation’s biggest export, vowed to bring comfort to the cowering masses.
Inspired by Stevie Wonder’s concert in aid of blind Jamaican children a year prior, Marley organized the free Smile Jamaica concert to be held outdoors at National Heroes Park, and with no political alignment. But an event of such magnitude required permits and approvals, and the then governing PNP who were privy to event details changed the election date to coincide with Marley’s show.
Reports are that the Gong was furious for being taken for a political pawn and made to look like a Manley (PNP president) supporter. However, that would prove to be the least of Marley’s worries.
On December 3, 1976, two days before the concert, Marley was attacked as he rehearsed at his home at 56 Hope Road by two carloads of armed gunmen. The brazen attempt was widely speculated to be the work of political actors or as Bounty Killer plainly put it, due to Bob’s “political influence on the ppl”.
Eyewitness Tyrone Downie, a keyboardist, recalled the eerie details of the exact moment in the Marley biography So Much Things to Say. “At the moment when the gunmen broke in, we were rehearsing I Shot The Sheriff. Bob had stepped out, ’cause the horns weren’t on that record and the horn players wanted to play on it…Bob came out of the rehearsal room and all of a sudden you see a hand come through the door like, and start firing this .38,” he said.
Miraculously, the bullet aimed at Marley grazed his chest and lodged in his left arm, his wife Rita, although shot in the head, was only left bloody as her thick locs broke the impact, while Marley’s manager Don Taylor sustained serious injuries but survived.
While Reggae has long been viewed as an elixir for the downtrodden, Dancehall has been vilified in the opposite light since inception. Yet Marley’s conscious, uplifting ethos didn’t spare him from plots against his life or a targeted attack on home soil. Bounty Killer associates this with a larger problem, far removed from the scope of music, be it Dancehall or Reggae.
“Social dysfunction causes violence. Violence [has] become a culture in Jamaica”, he said at a recent charity event in Seaview Gardens when asked his views on the PM’s claims. “Music is just one of the little entities in the world that could have influenced anybody.” He went on to list the many influences — media, movies, role models, broken homes — that could also serve as reliable scapegoats.
The veteran deejay didn’t end the list without blasting the authorities as he’s done in hits such as Sufferer and Fed Up, and who by several accounts tried to snuff out the life of the Gong.
“Even corrupt leaders, they are an influence in everything too”, he continued. “How did we reach here?” All of us to be blamed. It’s our country and it’s our fault. We’ve got to work it out, but pointing fingers not gonna come up with a solution.”
He closed the interview with a few lines matching his message on Instagram, citing Marley while cleverly hinting at how the nation could fix its woes. “The issue is people must have more value for each other. The One Love that Bob Marley sang about [has] broken down in Jamaica. The ‘One Love’ has gone to one [million] pieces so we’ve got to get it back together,” he said.
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