Dancehall veteran Bounty Killer has been in the news since an interview he gave to I Never Knew TV last week in which he discussed his opinions on music, particularly dancehall and Afrobeats, and how each influence—or does not—the other. Do you think that dancehall music still has a place in the global music industry in light of the rise of Afrobeats?
While many on social media are thanking Bounty for what they regard to as “an honest evaluation,” he is also receiving some criticism for mentioning Burna Boy’s song Ye while talking about the lack of words in Afrobeats songs.
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“Afrobeats have no lyrics; they have a lot of melody, groove, and topic. Ye ye ye is not a lyric; it is a topic. The song only has a style, melody and topic … Ye, ye. Dat a lyrics? Dat a topic. Ye, ye, we know what ye ye ye, mean … those are topic and di melody. Style, melody, topic. Simple!” the Don Gagan stated in his interview.
Burna Boy’s fan website Burna.boy.news was among the first to take the initiative and post comments that aimed to disparage Bounty Killer while protecting their idol. “That man na craze did he listen to the verses? Burna Boy knows how to entertain people while sending a message at the same time. Ye is about hustling for a better life. This guy na dust full him head mtcheeeeew.”
But, Morgan Heritage’s producer and vocalist Gramps Morgan supported the dancehall performer’s views and said he saw no need for any sort of retaliation.
He noted,“People need to listen the entire interview and yes … Bounty Killer is right.”
“There’s not much to really say expect the man is talking facts. The song he referenced is explained perfect … there wasn’t much [that was] needed to make the song a hit … just a grey melody, not complicated lyrics or words and a great topic with a great beat,” Gramps responded when questioned about the African Giant hit “Ye”.
Ye does begin with the word “ye” appearing a total of 43 times, and it finishes with “ye” appearing more than 70 times. Ye has received 227 million views on YouTube since its launch on August 6, 2018. Burna Boy’s third studio album Outside, which was released in January 2018, has this song as its sixth single.
In response to a comment made on social media that the Bounty Killer seemed “a little bit sour,” Gramps said, “There should be no competition between family. That is his message. Unity and love!”
Sean “Contractor” Edwards, the producer, is adamant that it was all misinterpreted and stated that Bounty “was actually commending the Burna Boy song.”
Edward remarked, “Bounty Killer’s comment was taken out of context,” he then continued,” He was making an example of how these young dancehall artists should make songs. It has a topic that everybody can relate to. There’s a different language of music around the world.”
Edwards also gave Bounty a verbal spanking for completely refuting any claims that Afrobeats or dancehall must take a backseat in order for dancehall to succeed.
“Afrobeats has nothing to do with dancehall,” Bounty stated in the interview, “Afrobeats is another genre. Afrobeats never came in competition with dancehall or came with aintent to take something from dancehall. I don’t know why people keep on comparing Afrobeats and dancehall. Why? Afrobeats is like a baby from dancehall; it’s a relative.”
As indicated by the newly released single, Who Deh Like You, a Morgan Heritage track that also includes Bounty, Cham, and Stonebwoy, Edwards said that Bounty Killer is undoubtedly not opposed to performing Afrobeats tracks. On March 17, Who Deh Like You debuted at the top of the US Afrobeats charts. The single has been widely promoted on social media by Bounty Killer, who has expressed his happiness at how well Afrobeats is going and how it “complements dancehall.”
