Known as the Warlord, the Ghetto Gladiator, the Poor Peoples' Governor, and… Read Full Bio ↴Known as the Warlord, the Ghetto Gladiator, the Poor Peoples' Governor, and the Five Star General, Bounty Killer is one of dancehall reggae's most enduring artists and influences throughout the industry, known for his intricate, war-like lyrics, sound system dubplates, and stable of artists which has changed over the years but never lessened in popularity.

Bounty Killer, aka Rodney Basil Price, was born 12.06.1972 in the Trenchtown area of downtown Kingston, Jamaica, with his family moving to a next ghetto area of Riverton City (formerly known as Dungle), and finally Seaview Gardens, Kingston, as a young child. One of nine children to his mother "Miss Ivy" and father, owner of a small sound system, Rodney first picked up the mic as a deejay at nine years old.
He nearly lost his life to gun violence at 14, but thankfully fully recovered from the bystander assault and soon began his music career as Bounty Hunter. He joined neighborhood friends Nitty Kutchie and Boom Dandemite in seeking out opportunities in country as well as town, performing for Metromedia and Bodyguard, as well as other local area sound systems. It was during a chance meeting with brother of King Jammy, Uncle T, which would change his career forever.

Bounty's initial recordings were done by Uncle T, after Jammy himself was skeptical due to the violent nature of the tracks. Jammy eventually relented upon witnessing the rising popularity of the deejay.
His first hit record on the sound system circuit was Dub Fi Dub and other recordings with the King Jammys label were compiled into 1993's Jamaica's Most Wanted, later released as Roots, Reality and Culture. By 1993, now known internationally as Bounty Killer, Rodney was quickly becoming regarded as one of the fiercest and most lyrically gifted of the next generation of deejays. Hits such as Coppershot, Lodge, and Spy Fi Die quickly propelled Bounty to an upper-echelon deejay, and sound system dubplate favorite. "Coppershot" was actually a hit in New York before Jamaica, which left Bounty as personally indebted to the American city as much as his native Kingston. 1993 also brought the beginning of a long, on-and-off rivalry with Beenie Man, which culminated in a battle at Sting 1993, extended through the mid-90s and flared up again in the latter half of the following decade.

Bounty won the war at Sting 1993 and his legacy as dancehall superstar was cemented as a result. The mid-1990s brought hit after hit, such as Cellular Phone, Not Another Word, and Mama. The heated war-of-words with Beenie Man gave the world many popular tunes from each side, including Ask Fi War, Suspense, and War Beyond The Stars.

The mid-90s era culminated in the release of My Xperience in 1996. The most comercially successful album of Bounty's career, and widely considered one of the best dancehall albums of the decade, it mixed popular dancehall tracks, such as Living Dangerously featuring Barrington Levy and Fed Up, with hip-hop crossover duets featuring Jeru The Damaja, Raekwon and, most popularly, The Fugees.
The decade closed out with two more albums, Next Millenium, which featued more hip-hop guest combinations, and 5th Element, which returned to a more hardcore-dancehall style.

By the year 2000, Bounty Killer, along with Capleton, was still considered the top deejay in the business, particularly with the waning popularity (at the time) of Beenie Man, and refocused career path of Buju Banton. This was due as much to being the most in-demand artist for dubplate recordings by sound systems as to actual studio material.
In 2001, he was featured with No Doubt on their international hit Hey Baby, and appeared with the band for a pre-game performance at the 2002 NFL Super Bowl.
In 2002, Bounty released his most ambitious project since My Xperience, a double CD (released seperately), titled Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery and Ghetto Dictionary: The Art of War. While not nearly the commercial success of My Xperience, underground sales were strong, and it featured the smash dancehall hit Sufferah.

Since the Ghetto Dictionary project, Bounty Killer's influence has mostly been behind-the-scenes, working with young talent and bringing new dancehall reggae stars to the forefront. He has been credited with bolstering the careers of, among others, Elephant Man, Busy Signal, Wayne Marshall, Baby Cham, and Vybz Kartel.
He currently oversees a stable of artists known alternately as The Alliance and Gully, which includes Mavado and Aidonia.

Eyes a bleed
Bounty Killer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Lord have mercy
Well, I and I a old herbalistic and
This one is very enthusiastic
Because the world say dem want it and
I-ses and praises to whosever plant it
I gotta chant it, well

Smoke the weed suh 'til mi eye dem a bleed
And if I can't get the chronic, well di killer a leave
Alaska and di skunk, I smoke dem deh by di trees
Hand me di weed because New York a freeze
Police smell mi weed and a swarm me like bees
Dem nah get di stick, the drop leaf or di seed
Well, fi di weed, I have a personal greed
Alaska and di skunk, go get me dem, please

I ask, who gonna be my sponsor?
Seh back this argument, say dem must legalize ganja
Believe a now me ask and never get any answer
Dem come wit' cigarettes weh only give you lungs cancer, I heard
It give yuh mouth bad odor
Some bwoy dem send fi needle and some snort di powder
Jamaica was brand as the land of ganja
A guy a look coke, send him go live a Colombia

Smoke the weed suh 'til mi eye dem a bleed
Me can't get the chronic, well di killer a leave
Alaska and di skunk, I smoke dem deh by di trees
Hand me di weed because New York a freeze
All police smell mi weed and a swarm me like bees
Dem nah get di stick, the drop leaf or di seed
Well, fi di weed, I have a personal greed
Alaska and di skunk, go get me dem, please

Wu-tang sound control America
One operator, one selector
Wu-tang sound control America
One operator, one selector

Those unaware would not knowledge the square
I linger in the air like smoke, but I'm there
Hard to di-tect yourself
When you can't see clear through the rabbit feed dem call weed
Original ganja plant, dem bear seed, the aroma
Got me callin' my connect, I need a donor
To lace me with pounds from Arizona, the elusive
Bounty and the Masta exclusive
Many entertainer want the chance to bust
But it's only with the gods I trust, do I puff
Burnin' bush full of fronto
Lampin' on the Bay of Montego
To a far wind, bringin' Wallabee Clarks to the starvin'
There's no escapin' the soundclash
Gunfire shot, I make it hot at Sunsplash

And I and I have to shout it out loud, yeah

Smoke the weed suh 'til mi eye dem a bleed
Me can't get the chronic, well di killer a leave
Alaska and di skunk, I smoke dem deh by di trees
Hand me di weed because Canada deh freeze
All police smell mi herb and a swarm me like bees
Dem nah get di stick, the drop leaf or di seed
Well, fi di weed, I have a personal greed
Di gator and di skunk, go get me dem, please

I ask, who gonna be my sponsor?
Seh back this argument, say dem must legalize ganja
Believe a now me ask and never get any answer
Dem come wit' cigarettes weh only give you lungs cancer, I heard
It give yuh mouth bad odor
Some bwoy dem send fi needle and some snort di powder
Jamaica was brand as the land of ganja
You love coke so much go buy a house a Colombia

Me smoke the weed suh 'til mi eye dem a bleed
Me can't get the chronic, well di killer a leave
Alaska and di skunk, I smoke dem deh by di trees
Hand me di weed because Japan a freeze
Babylon smell mi herb and a swarm me like bees
Dem nah get di stick, the drop leaf or di seed

Well, fi di weed, I have a personal greed
Alaska and di skunk, go get me dem, please

Overall Meaning

The song "Eyes a Bleed" by Bounty Killer and Masta Killa is a reggae/rap track that is centered around the love for cannabis, commonly referred to as weed. The song begins with Bounty Killer's intro where he emphasizes the significance of herbalistic and explains how the world is in need of it. In the chorus, Bounty Killer further asserts his love for the herb, stating that he smells it until his eyes bleed, and if he can't get the chronic, he would settle for a killer lead. Additionally, he references the police and how they should not swarm around him like bees and get in trouble with him.

In the second verse, Bounty Killer points out that he has been asking who will sponsor the legalization of cannabis, but he has not found a sponsor yet. He mentions that the government may legalize cancer by not legalizing the herb. In the third verse, Masta Killa comes in with a rap, where he likens himself to cannabis smoke that lingers in the air, but he is always present. He mentions how original ganja plants have bare seeds and have the best aroma. He desires to get laced with pounds of weed from Arizona and calls the duo of Bounty and Masta exclusive.

Line by Line Meaning

Yeah! Yeah! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
We are enthusiastic because we love herbalistic.

Lord have mercy, when we love herbalistic, ah
We ask for mercy when we indulge in herbalistic substances.

This ones very enthusiastic because the world say dem want it, ices and freezes them plant it and them chant it Well..
This song is highly enthusiastic because people around the world want herbalistic substances and grow it while chanting.

Smell the weed until me eyez a dem bleed If I can't get the chronic, have a kill a lead At last all de skunk, and smoke everybody trees and many weed because we all gon' freeze, police
We indulge in marijuana until our eyes turn red. If we cannot get the preferred substance, we try others. We share the skunk and smoke every tree we find to get high and avoid getting caught by the police.

Smell the weed and nah swarm me like bees Dem nah get the stinkin trouble, leaf fortify the seed Wealthy for the weed, dem have a personal greed At last all the skunk gon' get me dem pleased
Smelling weed should not attract the police like bees. The leaves make the substance stronger. People who grow marijuana are wealthy and greedy. Smoking skunk makes them happy.

I ask, who gonna be my sponser? Set up this argument, said they must legalize ganja Believe a know me ask yet me nah get a me answer The government she gon' risk and legalize cancer
I ask who will support me in legalizing marijuana. I argue that it should be legalized, but I still do not get an answer. The government is risking legalizing cancer.

I heard, give ya mouth bad boy dere Son hold dem self a legalize, less nah the quota Jamaica was brand as the land of ganja Ya all ya colts a leave a Colombia
I heard that people who support legalizing marijuana are bad. But they try to legalize it anyway, except for the quota. Jamaica is known for marijuana, while the Colombians grow other drugs.

Those unaware would not knowledge the square I linger in the air like smoke, but I'm there Hard to di-tect yourself When you can't see clear through the rapid feed Them call a weed? Original ganja plant, dem bare seed The aroma, got my callin my collect, I need a donor to lace me with pounds from Arizona
People who do not know may not understand the situation. I am like smoke in the air, but still present. It is hard to escape rapid consumption. The so-called weed is the original marijuana plant. The aroma makes me crave it and I need someone to provide me with pounds from Arizona.

The elusive, Bounty and the Masta exclusive Many entertainer want the chance to bust but it's only with the Gods I trust, do I puff? Burnin bush from in front hoe, lampin on the Bay of Montego to a far wind, bringin wallabee Clark's to the starvin There's no escapin the soundclash Gun fire shot, I make it hot as sunsplash
Bounty and Masta are elusive and exclusive. Entertainers want to perform with them, but they only smoke with trusted people. They indulge in marijuana near the Bay of Montego and bring supplies to those in need. They cannot escape the soundclash, and they make it hot like a sunsplash.

Wu-Tang sound control America One operator, one selector Wu-Tang sound control America One operator, one selector
The Wu-Tang sound controls America with one operator and one selector.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Elgin Turner, John Scilipoti, Paul Yebuah, Rodney Basil Price

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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