Bounty Killer

Real Name: Rodney Basil Price
Born: June 12th, 1972
Place of Birth: Riverton City, Jamaica
Official website: www.bountykiller.com

Coming from a dancehall background, his father ran the Black Scorpio Sound System, and it was not long before he picked up the microphone himself. He soon became known performing on other sound systems, including Stereo Two and Metromedia. His first recording session was in the spring of 1992 at King Jammy's studio when he sang "Watch The Gun", produced by Uncle T. After singing a number of other rhythms, Uncle T's brother King Jammy recognized Bounty Killer's potential and "Fat And Sexy" was the resulting hit. Many ragga hits related to guns and Killer's contribution to the list is considerable: "New Gun", "Cop A Shot", "Kill Fe Fun" and "New Gun Gal Say Yes". The flurry of gun-related hits continued unabashed and in 1993 the inevitable clash took place with his main rival, Beenie Man. In 1994, Killer recorded a number of singles that moved the subject matter away from guns, including, with Chuck Turner, "Run Around Girl" and "Roots Reality And Culture". His big hit "Down In The Ghetto" described how guns and drugs reached the ghettos sanctioned by corrupt government officials: "Down in the ghetto where the gun have a ting - and the politician is the guns them a bring - hey - and the crack and the coke them a support the killing - me check it out the whole a dem ah the same ting".

The singer also contributed to tracks by Colin Roach ("I'll Be Back") and Junior Reid ("This World's Too Haunted").
He also appeared on "No, No, No (World A Respect)" by seasoned Studio One performer Dawn Penn, alongside fellow veterans Dennis Brown and Ken Boothe. Bounty Killer's growing popularity resulted in a prominent UK tour, and in the spring of 1995 his single with Sanchez, "Searching", enjoyed a long stay on the reggae chart. He continued to record many hits throughout 1995, including "Book Book", "Cellular Phone", "Smoke The Herb", "Mama", "No Argument" and "Fear No Evil". By the end of 1995 the continuing feud with Beenie Man was resolved through RJR's disc jockey Richard Burgess, who invited the two to the station where a truce was announced. In the summer of 1996 Bounty's inimitable style enhanced the dancehall mix of the Fugees' chart-busting version of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly". During the late 90s, he released the albums Next Millennium and The 5th Element, and started up his own Pricele$$ Records label.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 2005
Source - BBC Music Profiles