Words by Jesse Serwer, Photo by Martei Korley—
If you haven’t been following Ninjaman’s epic return from a three-pronged precipice of crack addiction, irrelevance and a possible life sentence, well, you’re missing out on one of the best plotlines in dancehall. Since being freed from jail on murder charges last year, Ninja has once again become ubiquitous in JA, stealing the show at festivals like St. Mary A Mi Come From, playing uptown spots like Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records, hatching a plan to revive dancehall and even walking the runway (in some seriously long braids) at this month’s Caribbean Fashion Week.
Of course, all of this wouldn’t be worth more than hype if he wasn’t also back on his game musically, dropping his best tunes in nearly two decades. The zenith of this run has been “Ninja Mi Ninja,” a triumphantly anthemic, hip-hop-flavored banger in the Jr. Gong mold, produced by Skatta Burrell.
Three months after dropping the single (and a highly entertaining video for “Dweet” with Downsound Records labelmate Specialist), the Original Don Gorgon has unveiled a “Ninja Mi Ninja” video, which follows him from live performances to his yard to his walk at Fashion Week. Worth noting is that this is just the third video in a career that includes some of the biggest dancehall singles ever. Watch: