Veteran dancehall entertainer Leonard ‘Merciless’ Bartley passed away on Tuesday, in Kingston Jamaica. The deejay from Chapelton, Clarendon, was often described as one of the “baddest” clash artiste’s dancehall has ever produced.
This title followed his 2000 performance where he took on the dancehall big three of Ninja Man, Bounty Killer, and Beenie Man on the biggest stage in Dancehall -Sting. A clash that started with Ninja man was quickly joined by Bounty and Beenie Man but Merciless living up to his name approached all three without fear and “buried” them in true dancehall fashion.
Years later Bounty Killer called it his “most embarrassing clash moment.”
Back then, victory at Sting, dubbed the greatest one-night stage show on Earth, was the elixir for an artiste’s career but was only a small fraction of a long and accomplished career that produced several hits songs that include:
Mama Cooking, this song is dedicated to hard-working loving mothers and the memories they create for their children. He spoke to his love for his mom and her cooking, a feeling Jamaicans of all ages can relate to.
Mavis is often described as one of his biggest songs because of its international appeal and the romantic sentiments expressed about what women need. Including Hollywood stars such as Chuck Norris, Wesley Snipes, and Sylvester Stallone helped propelled the song to become the top reggae single in Jamaica in 1995.
Arguably his most popular song in Jamaica Gal Dem Gizzada represents the style of ‘gyallis’ songs from Dancehall. The song which speaks to his inherited sexual skills resonates with all audiences and is still played at dancehall parties today.
The Letter was one of the last hits of Merciless’ career. This song as the name suggests was a letter written to his mom about his time of incarceration in a federal prison in Florida. The song resonated with audiences because it detailed an experience many mothers and other relatives have gone through.
Born July 1, 1971, Merciless was 51 years old when he died on July 19.
