Photo by Martei Korley
Cool nuh, Bounty.
It seems like centuries ago that Bounty Killer and Beenie Man had the world buzzing to the sound of dancehall with their much-lauded takeover of Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz series on Instagram Live. Less than 36 hours after the former rivals’ triumphant and essentially glitch-free display of cultural solidarity, George Floyd would have his life snuffed out of him at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, setting off nearly a month of global protest and intensifying demands for justice. Seemingly everything that came before then is now, as it should be, ancient history.
That momentum, of course, has carried to Jamaica, the island which, five decades ago, unleashed the world’s most powerful form of protest music. An heir to that legacy, the “Poor People’s Governor” Bounty Killer wanted to show his support for the movement last Saturday when organizers convened a rally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement outside of the U.S. Embassy in Kingston.
Masked up and in need of shade from a blistering sun, Bounty had just stepped to the sidelines after adding his voice to the protest when he stopped for a rare candid shot. We’ll be listening out for Bounty’s lyrical take on current events.
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