Blair grew up in rural Clarks Town in the northwestern parish of Trelawny. His deeply religious family life (his mother was a Seventh-day Adventist and his grandmother a Revivalist) imbued him with a profound spirituality. During his youth, his favorite singers were reggae legends Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer, musicians who strongly influenced his own style. Peter Tosh's influence can definitely be heard in Anthony B's vocal delivery and revolutionary stance.
Anthony B adopted Rastafarian beliefs as a teenager, a decision which was not well-received by his family. The stubborn and determined Anthony B refused to give up his new religion and his dreadlocks and moved to the home of his aunt and uncle in the Kingston suburb, Portmore.
While attending high school, Anthony B debuted as a deejay for the local sound system, Shaggy Hi-Power. In 1988, he befriended reggae artists such as Determine, Mega Banton, Ricky General and Terror Fabulous.
At this point in the reggae industry, singing "slack" songs about women was the popular thing to do. Anthony B did not believe in degrading women and chose to pen politically-slanted songs rather than so-called "gyal chunes." He hooked up with Little Devon the Half Pint sound-a-like singer he made his debut single "The Living is Hard" on the Wizard label in 1993. Anthony B tried many different producers but found that none of them fit his style of music. Finally, Anthony B teamed up with Richard "Bello" Bell, creating hits such as Fire Pon Rome, Raid Di Barn, Rumour, and Repentance Time. Anthony B's 1996 debut album Real Revolutionary was highly acclaimed in the reggae community. In late 1997, Anthony B released Universal Struggle which showed that Anthony B had a consistent, high-calibre talent. Anthony B has released a large number of albums since that time including 1999's Seven Seals and 2004's Untouchable which featured collaborations with artists including Wyclef Jean.
Anthony B tours extensively in Europe and North America and is known for his fiery, high-energy performances.
Anthony B is a member of the Bobo Ashanti branch of the Rastafarian movement. "Bobo Dreads", as they are known, are recognizable by their long robes and turbans. The strong Afrocentric pride and the other Rastafarian beliefs (or "overstandings" as Rastafarians prefer to call them) which Anthony B holds are reflected in his songs.
Discography
* Predator & Prey (1996, Alpha Enterprises)
* Real Revolutionary / So Many Things (1996, Greensleeves)
* Universal Struggle (1997, VP Records)
* Seven Seals (1999, VP Records)
* That's Life (2001, VP Records)
* More Love (2001, AO ! Records)
* Live On The Battlefield (2002, Jahmin' Records)
* Reggae Max (2002, Jet Star)
* Street Knowledge (2003, Nocturne)
* Judgment Time (2003, 2B1 Records)
* Smoke Free (2003, Bogalusa Records)
* Voice Of Jamaica vol. 2 (2003, Nocturne)
* Wise Man Chant (2004, Black Scorpio)
* Justice Fight (2004, Nocturne)
* Untouchable (2004, Togetherness Records)
* Power Of Creation (2004, Nocturne)
* Black Star (2005, Greensleeves)
* My Hope (2005, AL.TA.FA.AN. / Minor 7 Flat 5)
Mr Heartless
Anthony B Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yu worthless
Pass mi sword and mi cutlass
You think is a laughing matter this
Verse 1:
You a try everything you have you trap set up
And you plan is for one brother to hate the other brother And slay him so Babylon can crush him cup
It's a pity many of the youths don't realize
That you stray them with your dollars
Give them your killing orders
And turn around and sell dem out just like french fries
But here is what you do, you use the youths like dem a tool
For doing a bag a evilous things
But woe be on to you for turning people pickney fool
You shatter their hopes and dreams
You can't deny don't even try
You are the reason why decomposed bodies are often found
But will not be for long can't escape with all your wrong
Countless murders committed in towns
Chorus:
Fi di bag a people you mek a suffer
Fi di blood money that mek you richer
Oh oh oh Mr. Heartless you end it a go bitter
Shall be bitter, shall be bitter
Fi di youths you pay fi do the murder
Al a di body whey dem dump in a gutter
Oh oh oh
Member you a go pay fa
Rastafari teach you
You no waan learn Well nuff a dem skin get burn
Jah
Verse 2:
Check it out many times the innocent get slay
And you same one name the killer
To the crime stop media
Collect reward while sufferer grieve in pain
Mama face the hardest time to give youths education
And end up loosing many ways for her is only wasted days
No chance of getting back a fraction
So youths you need to stand up strong
Don't take no boosting from no one
Take this advise I give
Don't get red eye because a money just work and earn it honestly
Don't say that I'm talkative
A lot of youth like you dem use and heard it often in the news
Most wanted for killing a few
No follow them and loose your soul
Just keep you cool nuh loose control
Like others they will shake you up too
Chorus:
Fi di bag a people you mek a suffer
Fi di blood money that mek you richer
Oh oh oh Mr. Heartless you end it a go bitter
Shall be bitter, shall be bitter
Fi di youths you pay fi do the murder
Al a di body whey dem dump in a gutter
Oh oh oh
Member you a go pay fa
Remember
Until the colour of a man skin is of no more significance
Than the color of his eyes,
Then shall always war
Please know what life is for
Jah, Rastafari
The lyrics of Anthony B's "Mr. Heartless" speak to the issue of violence and crime in Jamaican society. It begins with an insult to a heartless individual who is trying to trap and turn brothers against each other, leading to their demise. The singer points out the irony of the oppressor using the very people they oppress to do their dirty work for money. The lyrics then transition into a call for the youth to resist the temptation to get involved in violence and instead focus on earning an honest living. The chorus repeats the consequences of the heartless person’s actions, which will ultimately lead to bitterness and agony.
The song highlights the problem of crime in Jamaican society and criticizes the system that allows corruption to exist. The lyrics reveal the singer's disgust with the system, particularly the corrupt individuals who use their power and influence to trap people, particularly the youth. The singer also suggests that these corrupt individuals will get what they deserve, implying that there is a higher power that will hold these individuals accountable for the harm they have caused.
Line by Line Meaning
Yu worthless
You are of no value
Pass mi sword and mi cutlass
Give me my weapons
You think is a laughing matter this
You think this is a joke
You a try everything you have you trap set up
You are trying all means to deceive
And you plan is for one brother to hate the other brother
Your plan is to set one brother against another
And slay him so Babylon can crush him cup
And kill him so the authorities can arrest him
It's a pity many of the youths don't realize
It's unfortunate that many young people don't understand
That you stray them with your dollars
That you lure them with money
Give them your killing orders
Give them orders to kill
And turn around and sell dem out just like french fries
And then betray them as if it's nothing
But here is what you do, you use the youths like dem a tool
You use young people as tools
For doing a bag a evilous things
To do many wicked things
But woe be on to you for turning people pickney fool
But you'll soon suffer for misleading young people
You shatter their hopes and dreams
You destroy their aspirations
You can't deny don't even try
You cannot deny, don't even attempt to
You are the reason why decomposed bodies are often found
You are the cause of finding many decomposed bodies
But will not be for long can't escape with all your wrong
But it won't last long, you can't escape responsibility
Countless murders committed in towns
Many murders happening in towns
Fi di bag a people you mek a suffer
For the many people that you've caused pain
Fi di blood money that mek you richer
For the blood money that enriches you
Oh oh oh Mr. Heartless you end it a go bitter
Mr. Heartless, your actions will lead to bitterness
Shall be bitter, shall be bitter
It will be bitter, it will be bitter
Fi di youths you pay fi do the murder
For the young people you pay to commit murder
Al a di body whey dem dump in a gutter
For all the corpses they dumped in gutters
Member you a go pay fa
Remember, you will pay too
Rastafari teach you
Rastafari teaches you
You no waan learn
You don't want to learn
Well nuff a dem skin get burn
Well, many of them will get burned
Jah
Jah (God)
Check it out many times the innocent get slay
Many times, innocent people get killed
And you same one name the killer
And you are the one who names the killer
To the crime stop media
To the media for crime stoppers
Collect reward while sufferer grieve in pain
Collecting rewards while the victims' families grieve in pain
Mama face the hardest time to give youths education
Mothers struggle to provide education for their children
And end up loosing many ways for her is only wasted days
And ends up losing in many ways, it's just wasted days for her
No chance of getting back a fraction
No chance of recovering even a bit
So youths you need to stand up strong
So young people, you need to be strong
Don't take no boosting from no one
Don't be influenced by anyone
Take this advise I give
Take this advice I give you
Don't get red eye because a money just work and earn it honestly
Don't be envious of money, just work hard and earn it honestly
Don't say that I'm talkative
Don't call me talkative
A lot of youth like you dem use and heard it often in the news
A lot of young people like you are used, and you hear about it often in news
Most wanted for killing a few
Most wanted for killing a few
No follow them and loose your soul
Don't follow them and lose your soul
Just keep you cool nuh loose control
Just stay calm and don't lose control
Like others they will shake you up too
They will shake you up like they did to others
Until the colour of a man skin is of no more significance
Until the color of a man's skin is no longer relevant
Than the color of his eyes,
Than the color of his eyes
Then shall always war
Then there will always be war
Please know what life is for
Please understand what life is for
Jah, Rastafari
God, Rastafari
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: FITZ ALBERT LIVERMORE, KEITH ANTHONY BLAIR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@racquelbrown-jt7sx
Still listening, 2024, this song should win the Grammy. These are the songs that come out of Jamaica that we are to be listening to.
@876MEDIA_TV
Real talk
@andrewblake5982
So true❤❤❤ real authentic musichttps://youtu.be/qF0w4lgijb0?si=1L001BNS47KusAPC I love Reggae instrumental❤❤
@TheKaydij
BIG TIME
@leonsutton108
I agree 1000 %
@francenepringle9291
Facts
@APBusinessLive
In my opinion, this song is one of the greatest songs of all time in any genre, who agrees?
@pashionistatruthbetold8089
Without a doubt...."Damage" is another Great one
@QueenJodiandAP
@@pashionistatruthbetold8089 That's right! See how these songs are still relevant today.
@dahreledward636
I so agree