Popular Jamaican dancehall deejay Bounty Killer has called on Jamaicans to take a firm stance against crime following a deadly gun battle between criminals and the police in Kingston on Monday.
Around midday in the Half-Way-Tree area, the police intercepted a vehicle with men who were alleged to be gunmen. The subsequent shoot-out with police, which took place in the full view of motorists, was captured on video.
Reacting to the incident in a lengthy Instagram post, Bounty Killer condemned the actions of the gunmen who were killed in the incident, saying they were senseless. He said more Jamaicans need to condemn criminal activity for the betterment of the country.
In the post, the deejay urged young Jamaican men who may be inclined to pursue a life of crime not to do so. He has also condemned Jamaican artists who he says are funding crime and taking care of criminals.
Bounty Killer’s statement adds to his recent campaign against crime and violence in Jamaica. Last month, the deejay, whose real name is Rodney Pryce, said that he regrets many of his past music which contained violent lyrics.
“I do learn from my mistakes … One of my mistakes was to sing seh ‘murder informa’, and ‘people dead’, and ‘my gun nuh join lodge’, and all these things,” the artist said.
“I’m just a different man, I’m not the same age, I’m not at the same stage. But I’m still Rodney. I’m still the same person who born on 12 June 1972,” he continued.
“So I don’t think a person can change, I’m surely rearranged. I’m stepping different and I’m seeing things different and I’m going about things different. So people would call that a change..but I’m same the man just smarter, wiser and bolder.”
Bounty Killer has also teamed up with Crime Stop Jamaica for a campaign to encourage residents to speak out against the perpetrators of crime and violence.
