Bounty Killer

During the 1990s Bounty Killer emerged as dancehall’s most forceful figure, a hardened rude boy whose lyrics displayed an unapologetic fondness for firearm imagery. Although his catalog also contained sharp attacks on dishonest officials, joint recordings with aggressive rap acts, affectionate nods to his mother, and a long-running onstage rivalry with Beenie Man, the tougher side of his persona overshadowed everything else for many listeners. That blend of conflicting traits gave him a status in Jamaica comparable to 2Pac’s in the United States, yet without the same aura of impending tragedy. After establishing himself locally in the first half of the decade, he moved deeper into hip-hop crossover territory by the late 1990s while never softening his core sound.

Rodney Price entered the world on 12 June 1972 inside Kingston’s Trenchtown neighborhood. The youngest of nine siblings, he passed his early years in Riverton City, a settlement constructed on the site of the former municipal landfill, before the family relocated to the tough Seaview Gardens district. His father operated a modest sound system, and Price began experimenting with microphone chat at the age of nine. At fourteen he survived a gunshot wound inflicted by stray bullets during a clash between opposing political groups while walking home from school. After a complete recovery he started performing under the name Bounty Hunter for local systems including Metromedia, Bodyguard, and Stereo Two. He and his circle frequently lingered outside King Jammy’s studio in hopes of an opportunity; eventually Uncle T, Jammy’s brother, produced his first tracks in 1990.

Still credited as Bounty Hunter, Price scored an immediate dancehall favorite with the sound-system dubplate “Dub Fi Dub.” He soon adopted the sharper, less common moniker Bounty Killer and intensified the combative stance of his rhymes. The year 1992 brought widespread recognition through several strong singles, most prominently “Copper Shot,” which also circulated underground in New York, and the anti-informant cut “Spy Fi Die.” Additional releases from the period included “Guns Out,” “New Gun,” “Kill Fe Fun,” “Gunshot Fi Informer,” and “Lodge.” Many of these selections appeared on his debut album, Jamaica’s Most Wanted, issued in 1993 and later distributed internationally under the title Roots, Reality and Culture after a 1994 socially conscious hit. Also in 1993 the long-standing lyrical battle with Beenie Man erupted during an onstage clash; because their vocal styles were similar, each accused the other of imitation, and the dispute reached vinyl on the 1994 clash album Guns Out.

As Jamaican authorities began restricting violent lyrics in live shows, Bounty Killer expanded his themes toward incisive social observation, notably on the drug-trade narrative “Down in the Ghetto,” which supplied the title for his early-1995 album. Over the following twelve months he enjoyed a sustained run of Jamaican successes: the Sanchez duet “Searching,” the hip-hop-inflected number one “Cellular Phone,” “Smoke the Herb,” the anti-censorship statement “Not Another Word,” the maternal salutes “Mama” and “Miss Ivy Last Son,” “Action Speak Louder Than Words,” “Book, Book, Book,” and “No Argument,” the last of which named another album. By the close of 1995 a leading radio DJ had brokered a public truce between Bounty Killer and Beenie Man, though tensions resurfaced from time to time at concerts and on record.

Bounty Killer delivered his clearest artistic summation in 1996 with the twenty-track double set My Xperience. Alongside earlier hits and fresh material, the project included appearances by American rap artists the Fugees, Raekwon, Busta Rhymes, and Jeru the Damaja, plus reggae veterans Barrington Levy and Dennis Brown. The track “Hip-Hopera” entered the American charts; the album itself performed strongly with critics, climbed into the upper reaches of the R&B list, and ranked among the year’s top-selling reggae releases in the United States. He followed with the British-issued Ghetto Gramma’ in 1997 and spent time working with producer Jazzwad.

Returning in 1998, Bounty Killer issued the guest-heavy Next Millennium on the normally non-reggae TVT label. The set spotlighted the newer wave of hardcore New York rappers Noreaga, Mobb Deep, Killah Priest, and the Cocoa Brovaz. “Deadly Zone” appeared on the Blade soundtrack, reached the top ten on the American rap singles chart, and helped the album achieve solid R&B sales. Its successor, 1999’s The 5th Element, signaled a return to a more unadulterated dancehall approach.

Late in 2001 Bounty Killer contributed a featured verse to No Doubt’s worldwide hit “Hey Baby,” joined the group in its video, and performed with them at the 2002 Super Bowl pregame show. The clip later sparked controversy back home when the island’s strongly homophobic dancehall circles noticed a brief scene containing a nude male figure; rivals seized on the moment for criticism. Despite the episode, Bounty Killer revisited the expansive scope of My Xperience for the two-part Ghetto Dictionary project. Released simultaneously in early 2002 as Ghetto Dictionary: The Art of War and Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery, the volumes combined mostly new recordings with a handful of earlier singles and stayed rooted in the raw dancehall style that first defined him. Both sets moved well among reggae audiences, and The Mystery earned a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album. Later that year he appeared on Swizz Beatz’s solo debut G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories, specifically on the single “Guilty.”