Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972),[1] known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair for gun talk".[1] He is considered one of the best dancehall lyricists of all-time.
One General Bounty Killer has projected that his retirement date from Dancehall, will be at the end of the year 2031, on the cusp of age 60.
The Warlord made the declaration a few days ago on his Instagram page after a fan heaped praises on him, in response to a video promoting his recent collab When We a Step with Cream of the Crop artist Jahshii, who is tipped by many to carry on Dancehall’s clash legacy.
“Killa do u even realize what u doing with dancehall right now from the verzuz u bin on a different gear. I’ve [been] waiting for u to hit back ur 90s stride n u just find back 1993. U bin hot but also chill throughout the yrs but general I can c that 2022 ain’t going to b normal… Is the world really ready for what u have in store after this album explode? I ain’t saying album drop bcuz we all know a rotten fruit drop off tree so me a seh album explode general up up up,” the fan, iyobei noted.
In response, the Warlord said he was musically invigorated and teaming with vim, vigor, and vitality. “Iyobei, You’re definitely on point. I’m revitalized realigned and recharged. It’s gonna be musical magic I got 10yrs more in music after that I’m not sure what I will be doing but for this anchor leg it’s all venom🌪🌪🌪🌪🌪🌪🌪🌪🌪,” he wrote in response.
Bounty’s revitalization appears to come from the fact that the pre-released songs from his long-delayed album King of Kingston, have been getting rave reviews.
Teaming up with the youthful Jahshii, who is a master at lyrical onstage clashing, an element which has been missing from Dancehall, also appears to have buoyed the One General’s renewed lease on Dancehall life.
While he has a long time to determine the next move after 2031, Bounty had received a worthwhile suggestion from Mr. Lexx in May this year. The Full Hundred artist had suggested that Bounty Killer, whom he described as “a man who is very good at spotting young talents at the forefront”, become president of a major Jamaican-based music label, to propel the music forward.
Bounty Killer’s Dancehall recording career has spanned more than three decades and started unofficially with himself and his other deejay colleagues voicing unsolicited dubplates for sound systems free of cost, in a bid to promote themselves as musicians.
According to him, in his teenage days, he was known as Matlock due to his witty lyrical comebacks, and argumentative persona, which later made him a consummate clash artist.
He voiced his first song, Coppershot in 1992 after he met a Jamaican-British producer Mikey, whom he was told, was recruiting and voicing young artists at Tuff Gong studios. There, he also met his now long-time friend Jazzwad who was a young musician at the time.
Disappointed with changes the producer made to the Coppershot beat from the Giggy to the Bam Bam riddim, Bounty later re-recorded the song which turned out to be his breakout hit, for King Jammy. According to Bounty, although the version released by Mikey was issued on a major label (Mango), the “groove wasn’t nice”.
As fate was to have it, he ended up at King Jammys studio, where, after months of trying to get the producers’ attention, ended up voicing four tracks in one day and not only immediately became a Jammy’s artist but later voiced over Coppershot.
Under the tutelage of Prento, a studio engineer, he and his other counterparts, practiced their deejaying skills on almost every riddim, until he mastered not only that art, but the art of executing dubplates in one take, as he revealed in a recent Teach Dem interview.
Bounty Killer’s King of Kingston is coming 19 years after his last album Ghetto Dictionary, which was released by VP Records in 2002. Although he had said last August, had also said he was in no rush to complete the album, as that was not his style, he had later projected a Christmas release date.
Since he exploded onto the Dancehall scene and became a household name following his illustrious 1993 clash with Beenie Man, Bounty Killer has released several studio albums including, Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery.
That album had featured 20 tracks comprising hits such as Mystery, High Grade Forever, Sufferah which featured his protégé Wayne Marshall and Pot of Gold featuring Richie Stephens, Arrow, as well as the title track Ghetto Dictionary.
The Callaloo Bed native’s first album was the 15-track Roots, Reality and Culture which was released in 1994. It included hits such as Kill for Fun, Coppershot, Spy Fi Die and Gun Thirsty.
On a prolific run that year, he followed up with the Down in the Ghetto album which featured 14 tracks, among them How the West was Won, Inspired by God, Defend the Poor, Dead this Time, and See you no more.
No Argument was released next in 1996, on the Greensleeves label as well as My Xperience which was released by VP Records.
No Argument carried huge hits such as Scare Him, Seek God, More Gal, Mama, Miss Ivy Last Son and Action Speak Louder than Words, while My Xperience featured 20 tracks including Fed Up, Guns and Roses, The Lord is my Light and Salvation and Benz and Bimma.
In 1997, his King Jammy-produced Ghetto Gramma was released with 20 tracks, among them Smoke the Herb, Book Book Book, Report You Missing, Fear No Evil and Income.
Next Millennium which followed in 1998 had 13 tracks including Eagle and Di Hawk, It’s a Party featuring Wyclef Jean, Can’t Believe Mi Eyes, and Reggae Party, a collab with his compatriots Third World and Shaggy.
In 1999, Bounty released The 5th Element which featured the Dave Kelly-written classics Anytime and Look, Bullz of Chicago, and the title track 5th Element.
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