‘Bounty Killer deserve fi be king’ - KipRich crowns seven-star general as dancehall monarch

With the recent squabble about 'dancehall kingship' among Yellowman, Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel, dancehall artiste KipRich said no other artiste is "more deserving" of that title than Bounty Killer.

"Right yah now mi wudda just give Bounty Killer di kingship because is him fit in deh. Killer put food pon whole heap a people table suh mi a seh any kingship weh a gwaan, dem affi jus crown Bounty Killer di king and even Kartel himself affi respect dat, because a Bounty Killer put Vybz Kartel out there dat him cudda even create his own empire - following off what Bounty teach him from creating the Scare Dem Crew and di Alliance," he told THE STAR.

"Bounty Killer deserve fi be king. Even though yuh neva hear Killer a bawl fi be king because him so real. Killer duh weh him a duh from him heart and buss a whole heap a artiste etc, but him truly deserve to be di 'King of Dancehall' based on his contributions to dancehall," KipRich added.

Though not directly partaking in the 'squabble', Bounty Killer recently shared a video on his Instagram feed in which the podcaster explored Bounty Killer's years of philanthropic attributes, musical creations, his personal contributions and achievements as well as testimonies from several musical acts he has impacted. The caption read, "What defines a true leader of a kingdom, is it what he gives to the [people] or what he gains from the [people]? Food for thought, y'all can go and debate that now".

KipRich, who was also part of the Alliance, called for a more organised structure to decide who is king.

"Just like how there's a [format] to determine 'Artiste of the Year', I feel like the 'king' title should be something that artistes work towards [by] putting in a body of work over a period of time," he opined. Using that process, he said dancehall artistes Elephant Man and Sean Paul could've got the title because "they have been doing well, collecting all the accolades and carried the dancehall music wide and far too".

"If there's a body of people with criteria to earn this [king or queen] title, it would've been more organised. They could probably dweet every five year and seh if dis artiste keep himself going for these five years and get all a these achievements, and if he's still doing well after five years, mi mek him keep di crown," KipRich reasoned. "But if a next artiste come up and lead him, then dat one get the crown fi dat timing. And if the [former] king come back around through his achievements, him get it again. But whoever giving out these kingship ting need fi have some rules inna it because yuh can't have man all inna dem down moments [musically] or when dem dead, a call dem king."

The online debate which has sparked since Vybz Kartel's prison release in July, has reignited following the artiste's historical Freedom Street concert in December which fans said marked his return to dancehall to reclaim his space as 'Dancehall King'. Self-proclaimed King of Dancehall, Beenie Man, came under heavy fire from the public who started questioning his position, since Vybz Kartel is also proclaimed the king. On January 9, Beenie Man shared a 2009 Reggae Sumfest clip on his Instagram page in which Vybz Kartel professed his respect to the "dancehall king". The post, which was shared with the caption, "Straight from the horse's mouth, so weh di war bout? 1 King," received mixed reactions. Yellowman subsequently told THE WEEKEND STAR that he "still holds the title" as dancehall king.

"I am who I am ... the original. From early dancehall days people a call me King Yellowman. They cannot be like me ... I don't know the reason why they are making me more powerful and important by fighting over something that I already have," said the veteran deejay.