Crowned Guinness Greatest Dancehall Icon in 2012, dancehall artist Bounty Killer is challenging recording artiste to make music with better content, especially social commentary.

According to the artist, who has a number of social commentary hits under his ‘Poor People Governor’ moniker, the youth are ignoring Jamaica’s problems.

The artist is promoting a new song, Karma, which features Lukie D. In the single, both artists denounce violence, and Bounty is therefore encouraging other acts to follow his lead.

“Kids are dying and crime is really getting out of hand, the rate is very high. The real voices need to speak up because more people need to be singing for the poor and poverty is the biggest killer right now,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Bounty Killer

“People know me as an artist, but I am also an advocate for justice. At first when I did songs like Poor People Fed Up, I did not do them because I thought I was going to get a big support, I did those songs because positive music needed to be heard.”

Bounty Killer said life is about balance, but he does not believe dancehall has been maintaining that balance in recent times.

“Some of these artists are doing music just for the hype and stardom, and while that is also good, there are more important things. I used to take the poor people problem as my problem because I came in music to change certain things because at the time political warfare was at its peak, and there was senseless violence over politics,” he said.

Karma was written by Khyri Whyte and Kantana, but both acts felt the effort would be best delivered by Bounty Killer and Lukie D.

Lukie D

While he believes most Jamaican artists are ignoring the ills in society, Bounty Killer gives credit to Bugle for his tendency to release songs with heavy social commentary. However, he didn’t seem pleased with other dancehall acts that have stayed away from positive messages.

“They don’t have poor people at their plight, and the ghetto youth not getting that message of upliftment and I am worried about that,” Bounty Killer said.

Similarly, Lukie D is also advising Jamaican artists to make songs with global appeal instead of focusing on local hype.

“Jamaica is just the factory and it’s not always the man who making noise in Jamaica is making noise outside. When you are putting pen to paper, don’t think about Weddy Weddy or Uptown Mondays, think about the world,” he said.