Mr. Lexx Calls On DJ Khaled To Establish ‘We The Best Jamaica’ With Bounty Killer As President
Mr. Lexx has doubled down on his stance that DJ Khaled has been using the wrong methodology to incorporate Dancehall music in his productions, and says what he should do is establish an arm of his We The Best label in Jamaica, or otherwise his bid to get Dancehall hits under his belt will remain an elusive dream.
The Full Hundred artist has predicted that if DJ Khaled acts on his recommendation, and signs a Dancehall artist like Dexta Daps, then the Seaview Gardens native would bring him all the ‘Yardman musical glory’ that he so fervently seeks.
“Yuh know who dem woulda haffi peel off di b-mboclaat Billboard if him get a run deh? A yute name Dexta Daps!” Lexus said in an interview with Billboard charting songwriter and producer, Kirk “Koolface” Ford on Instagram. “Just imagine Dexta Daps pon one a dem real foreign riddim deh man. Dem woulda haffi peel him off a di B_mboclaat Billboard.”
Khaled was ranked in Forbes Magazine’s top 100 highest-paid celebrities in the world in 2020, grossing US$36.5 million. The Palestinian-American has also said he owes his music success to Jamaican entertainers like Bounty Killer who groomed him in his days as an unknown, poor DJ.
It is in this vein that Mr. Lexx, said that Khaled, instead of teaming up with his friends, should take a business-like approach and could better show his gratitude to Jamaica, by establishing an arm of his label in Kingston, instead of working with only a chosen few and appoint Bounty Killer to be president, similar to the Jay-Z/Def Jam scenario, as he has a knack for identifying new talent.
Lexus had recommended in the interview that Khaled rent an entire floor on Usain Bolt’s high-rise office building in Kingston, and establish We The Best operations there in order to show his appreciation for the Jamaican culture’s impact on his rise to international stardom. “Now, you have the capability and you have the capacity to ply a We Di Best Jamaica, inna Jamaica. Seh yuh waan help di music, Usain Bolt have one building down a Half-Way-Tree Road, why yuh nuh just lease one floor and put we the Best Jamaica down deh suh,” he said.
“Sign some producers, caw a Dancehall yuh waan produce enuh and all now yuh nuh hit inna Damcehall; outa di whole a di song dem weh yuh produce inna Dancehall, none a dem nuh hit.”
He added, “Suh hear weh yuh do, di real Dancehall producer dem weh deh yah, spend some money wid Dave Kelly dem nuh! Spend some money wid di real Dancehall producer dem weh deh yah; sign some producers an meck dem produce some songs.”
Koolface had said that he was in total agreement with Mr. Lexx that Khaled should look at signing or voicing upcoming artists in order to grow the genre, which he has credited for his mainstream success, after adapting the Jamaican styles in his performances.
Lexx was harshly criticized recently after he stated on Twitter that Khaled was only voicing a clique of already-established artists, while other upcoming artists who need the opportunity to shine, were being left in the wilderness.
Making it clear that he was not trying to diss Khaled when he made his Tweets two weeks ago about the producer working only with the same set of people every time, nor was he making a case for the producer to sign him, Lexx said many people had distorted what he had said, resulting in some entertainers taking aim at him and calling him “bad mind’.
In the interview, Lexx contended that there is nothing that Khaled could do for either Bounty Killer, Capleton, Barrington Levy or Buju Banton that they have not already accomplished. He again queried “suh why yuh caan send some odda yute a road meck some odda yute try win some Grammy?”
“Yuh si di song weh dem put out wi Bounty, Buju Capleton and Barrington, wha Khaled can do fi anyone a dem, weh dem man deh neva done already? Bredda, di whole a dem man deh tour di world already. Di whole a dem man deh mash up Billboard already. Some a dem man deh win Grammy already. Weh Khaled a guh do fi dem man deh weh dem no do yet?” he stressed.
Mr. Lexx has a solid point as all four artists who participated in the Where You Come From song for Khaled’s recent Khaled Khaled album, have all been nominated for Grammy Awards in the past, with Buju Banton even surpassing Khaled’s achievements with three nominations and one Grammy win, compared to Khaled’s one win and two nominations.
Koolface also added that the Unruly Boss, Popcaan too, would be an excellent choice for Khaled to work with, to which Lexx responded in the affirmative. “Popcaan – we woulda haffi come peel off Popcaan,” he said.
Adding that Romeich Entertainment artiste Teejay was also a top pick, Koolface also said that Champion Boy Alkaline would also make the A-list as he had long proved himself to be a gladiator in Dancehall.
During the interview, Mr. Lexx also said if Khaled establishes his We The Best label chapter in Jamaica, with a “man like bounty Killer who is very good at spotting young talents at the forefront”, he would not be short of Jamaican music executives to run his operations either.
“We have whole heap a exec dung yaw weh can fulfil dem work deh. And if yuh want, sen dung somebaddy from Florida – a top exec meck dem come oversee wha a gwaan and… get the original Dancehall and den send di original Dancehall to di world den, using your platform,” he said.
“It is really f_cked up dat we dung yah suh haffi struggle dung yah suh fi buss and den wi haffi struggle again fi guh foreign guh speak to a label all di way a bl_odclaat foreign. Suh anyting weh gwaan wi caan even drive guh dung deh guh cuss. Wi haffi teck plane an by the time wi reach wi caan even guh in; security have wi locked outside,” he said.
Speaking like a seasoned music executive, Mr. Lexx said that Khaled could take a page out of Hip Hop superstar P-Diddy’s book, by engaging real original Dancehall producers like Dave Kelly in the effort.
“Memba di song dem weh Puff Daddy do, him never deh-deh when dem a voice. Him just come in and know seh a fi him ting dem and a Puff Daddy produce dem and dat is it,” he said.
“Suh meck Dancehall producers produce some real Dancehall tune and some Dancehall artiste, and den you which is our gateway to the word, sen it to the world. Why yuh no do dat den since a help yuh waan help Dancehall music? Suh when yuh come everytime now and voice yuh fren dem and whatever, dat naw benefit di music,” he added.
Mr. Lexx contended that since he, and many other artists and Khaled go “way back”, it should not be hard for Khaled to consider his recommendations in the interest of Jamaica.
“In reality still, di whole a wi know Khaled. A nuh no stranger this. A nuh like Swizz Beatz dem weh wi nuh know or Dr. Dre weh wi no know. Dis a Khaled weh wi a par wid from long time. Da same video deh weh him post, di day when dem leave and guh backa foreign, I was standing right beside Tony Matterhorn when him a ask Matterhorn all type a question,” he said.
“And too much times we sit here and let people manipulate the industry, just because a certain amount a people a benefit from it and dat’s kinda f_ked up. If yuh a go do suppm fi di industry dawg, just set it in a perspective where a lot of people can benefit from it,” Lexx added.