Dancehall icon Bounty Killer doesn’t hold back in expressing his dissatisfaction with the current state of the genre. Specifically, he critiques the modern Dancehall for its hip-hop-infused beats, diminished rhyming, and what he perceives as excessively explicit content. In an interview with The Cut, the “It’s Ok” deejay emphasizes the need for Dancehall to be more marketable and suggests toning down its dark and gothic elements.
Bounty Killer advocates for a return to the “less is more” approach, citing the flirty innuendoes of Terror Fabulous and Nadine Sutherland’s 1993 classic “Action” as an example. He emphasizes the success of his own unconventional 1994 track “Worthless Boy,” (Haunted Riddim) produced by Dave Kelly, which used a four-bar framework per verse, defying the prevailing songwriting structure of the time.
Despite his concerns, Bounty Killer acknowledges artists who, in his opinion, are getting it right in the contemporary scene. He commends Dexta Daps, Masicka, and Vybz Kartel for maintaining a level of quality in their work.
