Dancehall Rediscovery: Whatever happened to… Predator?

Words by —Tami Tsansai

We’ve all had moments where a random tune pops into our heads, or we turn the radio on just in time to hear a high school favourite coming at us through the speakers, instantly making the day. That’s the energy whenever I hear a track from one of these deejays… Hawkeye, Predator, Warrior King… where are all those wicked Jamaican dancehall artistes who used to ‘run de place’ now? I for one certainly miss their flava, so I thought it fitting to pay homage to a few of them with a series this week. Check out the first one after the jump.

Whatever happened to… Predator?

Remember him? The man who officially ushered the ‘mad’ and ‘head gone’ slangs into Jamaican popular culture? Yeah, that guy. He is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, you either appreciate his gimmickry or you’re annoyed by it. Still, I was thankful for his light-hearted approach to the music and there’s no doubt that he had a good dancehall run in the early 2000s with his ‘head nuh good’-based tracks. We’re still not too sure what he’s doing now, or whether he even plans to make a comeback, but he did give some insight into what happened with his career recently in an interview with Entertainment Report‘s Anthony Miller:

“I don’t really have any manager because Bounty Killer did everything for me, so when a promoter book Bounty Killer him say we got everybody, so these things became a setback. Loyalty buil’ you and kill you.”

Here are some of his popular tracks to jog your memory…