STAR of the Month: Kartel is not the greatest lyricist - Bounty Killer

Bounty Killer has been called legendary in dancehall circles. To show for it, the artiste has been invited to share his lyrical skill with international pop acts like No Doubt, The Fugees and Busta Rhymes.

He credits his upward movement in the recording industry to defining his artistry through songwriting.

According to Killer, there are some artistes who don't make it big because they record too little, and there are others who record too much.

"Merciless doe have enough record, but him have lyrics. Some ah dem boy yah nuh bad like Merciless," Killer told THE STAR. "And den some ah di artist dem never consistent. Dem nuh have enough talent fi keep up with weh dem come with like Mr G, Lexus, Vegas, dem nuh consistent. Dem fade. Dem come with a bang, den not suh much," he said.

Killer criticised Vybz Kartel, saying he "just have one bagga recording".

"Some man write too much man. Dats why dem write foolishness. I never made a mistake on a song. You can't be the greatest writer and make blunders and mistakes," he continued.

According to Bounty Killer, the multitude of songs released by Kartel has made it difficult to establish him as the greatest lyricist.

"If you are the greatest lyricist, you muss can use one piece of work to define your art. 'Look Into My Eyes' is a great piece of my work. It coulda be defined as 'Bounty Killer, the legend'," Killer said.

Bounty Killer asked what persons would consider the greatest Kartel song.

"You know yuh a guh have a whole day fi figure out dat? My best is song is 'Look Into My Eyes'. Quick, quick mi can just pick up dat. Name a Kartel weh bad like 'Book, Book, Book', one of the greatest dancehall recordings to this day," Killer said.

At the recently held launch of the Science Genius Jamaica programme at the Knutsford Court Hotel, challenging high school students to apply academic theories to music, 'Book Book Book' was used as part the musical ambience.

"Ah Minister of Education mi see haffi ah shake hand ova it wah day," Killer remarked, referring to the song as 'the most academic recorded song in dancehall'.

"When yuh hear "Book Book Book", yuh scared when yuh ah idle back inna di days," he said.

In 2006, Bounty Killer was invited as a guest performer on the HBO original series Def Poetry Jam, produced by music mogul, Russell Simmonds.

Another Jamaican artiste, Buju Banton was also invited to participate on the programme two years prior.