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.
Mama
Bounty Killer Lyrics
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Miscellaneous
Look
People A Dead That′s What I Said The Crime Must Be Led The Hungry Must Be
Fed Hey Yo Galore I'm Looking Through All This Fear Over The Years Hey Yo
Nobody Cares Take A Look In My House Would You Live In There Huh Hey Yo
Galore Look At My Shoes Can You See My Toes Well That′s How The Struggle
Goes Nobody Knows.
Chorus
Look into my eyes, tell me what you see?
Can you feel my pain? am I your enemy?
Give us a better way, things are really bad,
The only friend I know is this gun I have.
Listen to my voice, this is not a threat
Now you see the nine are you worried yet?
You've been talking 'bout′ you want the war to cease
But when you show us hope, we will show you peace.
Verse 1
Look into my mind, can you see the wealth?
Can you tell that I want to help myself?
But if it happen that I stick you for your ring
Don′t be mad at me it's a survival ting.
Look into my heart, I can feel your fear
Take another look can you hold my stare?
Why are you afraid of my hungry face?
Or is it this thing bulging in my waist?
Chorus
Verse 2
Look into my life, can you see my kids?
Let me ask you this, do you know what hungry is?
Well in this part of town, survival is my will
For you to stay alive you′ve got to rob and kill.
Look into my house would you live in there?
Look me in the eyes and tell me that you care,
Well I've made up my mind to end up in the morgue
Right now I′d rather die, cause man a live like dog.
Look down on my shoes, can you see my toes?
The struggle that we live nobody really knows
Stop and ask yourself, would you live like that?
And if you had to then, wouldn't you bus gun shot?
Look into the schools, tell me how you feel?
You want the kids to learn without a proper meal
Den what you have in place to keep them out of wrong?
If they drop out of school dem a go bus dem gun.
Chorus
REPEAT CHORUS
The lyrics of Bounty Killer's song, Mama, speak about the harsh realities of life and the struggles faced by impoverished people. The song begins with Bounty Killer asserting that people are dying and crime is rampant, and the hungry need to be fed. He then questions why nobody seems to care about these issues and draws attention to the state of his own house and shoes to illustrate the point. In the chorus, the singer asks the listener to look into his eyes and feel his pain, and notes that the only friend he has is the gun he carries. He then issues a plea for a better way, saying that hope will bring peace.
In the first verse, Bounty Killer urges the listener to look into his mind and see that he wants to help himself. He says that if he has to steal from someone to survive, it's not a personal attack, but a matter of survival. He then challenges the listener to look into his heart and hold his stare, questioning why they are afraid of his hunger and the bulge in his waistband.
In the second verse, the singer highlights that he has children and that survival is a non-negotiable aspect of life in his part of town. He asks the listener to look into his house and care about his situation before declaring that he would rather die than live like a dog. He then questions how the education system can keep children out of crime when they don't even have proper meals. Overall, the song aims to highlight the struggles faced by people living in poverty and calls on society to show more empathy and take action to make a difference.
Line by Line Meaning
Look
I'm observing my surroundings
People A Dead That′s What I Said The Crime Must Be Led The Hungry Must Be Fed
Due to poverty, people are dying so the ones who are hungry commit crimes to survive
Hey Yo Galore I'm Looking Through All This Fear Over The Years
Despite living in fear, I'm still standing strong
Hey Yo Nobody Cares Take A Look In My House Would You Live In There Huh Hey Yo Galore Look At My Shoes Can You See My Toes Well That′s How The Struggle Goes Nobody Knows.
Nobody cares about my struggles despite living in poverty and enduring hardships
Look into my eyes, tell me what you see?
I'm challenging you to see the pain in my eyes
Can you feel my pain? am I your enemy?
I want to know if you empathize with my struggles or see me as a threat
Give us a better way, things are really bad,
I'm asking for a solution to the problems my community is facing
The only friend I know is this gun I have.
I feel forced to rely on weapons for protection
Listen to my voice, this is not a threat
I'm not trying to intimidate you with my words
Now you see the nine are you worried yet?
I'm showing you my gun, but I'm not threatening you
You've been talking 'bout′ you want the war to cease
I've been hearing promises of peace, but I haven't seen any action
But when you show us hope, we will show you peace.
If you provide us with opportunities and support, we will strive for peace
Look into my mind, can you see the wealth?
I aspire to be financially secure, but it's challenging because of my circumstances
Can you tell that I want to help myself?
I have the drive to improve my situation
But if it happen that I stick you for your ring
If I resort to theft to survive, please don't judge me
Don′t be mad at me it's a survival ting.
Stealing is a desperate act of survival
Look into my heart, I can feel your fear
I can sense that you're afraid of me
Take another look can you hold my stare?
I want you to hold eye contact with me and see that I'm human too
Why are you afraid of my hungry face?
I'm not a threat because I'm hungry
Or is it this thing bulging in my waist?
I'm aware of how intimidating my weapon can seem
Look into my life, can you see my kids?
I'm a parent trying to survive for the sake of my children
Let me ask you this, do you know what hungry is?
Have you ever been hungry and desperate for survival?
Well in this part of town, survival is my will
In my community, survival is a constant battle
For you to stay alive you′ve got to rob and kill.
Survival means resorting to criminal activity for some people
Look into my house would you live in there?
I live in poverty and it's not a desirable living situation
Look me in the eyes and tell me that you care,
I want to know if you understand my struggles and empathize with me
Well I've made up my mind to end up in the morgue
Death feels like a better alternative to the difficult life I'm living
Right now I′d rather die, cause man a live like dog.
My living situation feels like living a life of an animal
Look down on my shoes, can you see my toes?
My shoes are worn out from constantly walking in poverty
The struggle that we live nobody really knows
The daily struggles we face are unknown to others
Stop and ask yourself, would you live like that?
Put yourself in my shoes and imagine living in poverty
And if you had to then, wouldn't you bus gun shot?
If you had to survive, wouldn't you resort to violence as well?
Look into the schools, tell me how you feel?
The schools in our community are lacking resources and support
You want the kids to learn without a proper meal
Kids are expected to learn while they're hungry and struggling
Den what you have in place to keep them out of wrong?
What are the resources put in place to prevent kids from resorting to criminal activity?
If they drop out of school dem a go bus dem gun.
If kids don't receive proper education, they're likely to resort to criminal activity
Writer(s): Price Rodney Basil, Yebuah Paul Warren Rupert Edward
Contributed by Camilla O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.