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In separate interviews with The Gleaner, both Rodney ‘Bounty Killer’ Price and Moses ‘Beenie Man’ Davis expressed the view that receiving an Order of Distinction from the Government of Jamaica meant more to them than a Grammy or any other award.
“I’m feeling very thankful and very grateful because when you get recognised by yuh country … by the Government … is different from a Grammy Award or MOBO Award or an African award,” Beenie Man told The Gleaner shortly after receiving his award from Governor General Sir Patrick Allen on Monday.
“This means more to me because I am a Jamaican who live in Jamaica and mi nuh plan fi move,” the Dancehall Doctor added.
An exuberant Bounty Killer summed up his feeling in one word: elated.
“You know they say a king never crown in his country. What you call this now?” Bounty asked, laughing with pure joy. They know everything … this is like getting an award from your parent.”
The two dancehall icons have enjoyed a storied career throughout the decades, with their fierce, long-standing rivalry coming to an end a few years ago and marking another new and exciting chapter in dancehall music. This saw them give the world an epic performance at the ‘Verzuz’ Battle of Dancehall Legends in May 2020, a feat that is still talked about today.
Beenie and Bounty were among 150 Jamaicans to receive honours and awards on Heroes Day, and in reality, some of the loudest cheers heard inside the National Indoor Sports Centre were reserved for them. They were bestowed with the Order of Distinction, Officer Class, for their contribution to the development of Jamaican music – dancehall.
Reggae Icon Award
Both entertainers, who had also received the prestigious Reggae Icon Award on Independence Day, said that they were “extremely happy” for the message that this is sending to the music fraternity in general.
Beenie Man shared that he hopes “dancehall gets the hard-work message” and expressed joy that he and Bounty were receiving this honour in the same year.
“How yuh mean? Then nuh me and Bounty start war the same year?” a jovial Beenie Man said.
“It means that hard work pays off,” Bounty Killer emphasised. “Although is not all of us get to achieve this in the time when we can celebrate it. So for us to get it in a prime time like this when I am in my fifties and can laugh and talk and shout about it, it’s a big thing. And then it shows that dancehall artistes are keeping it on a level where recognition is coming, especially from home. For young artistes, it shows that if you keep good character and personality, you can achieve all these things. Hard work pays off … after a couple decades. And this is not just for Bounty. This is is for the whole industry ... see Mr G stand up here beside me here. I really appreciate it, and I really look forward to the younger artistes coming up to get recognised like this.”
Was this OD something that Bounty hoped for while on his musical mission in dancehall?
“To be true, I never really expect this because I never saw my peers getting this. It’s only recently that I saw the Shabba Ranking and the Charlie Chaplains and a few of the dancehall artistes on stage. The singers used to get it, but they never used to give deejays, so hats off to Tony Rebel , Wayne Marshall, Shabba Ranks. And congrats to all of us here today … Beenie, Admiral Bailey, and Nadine Sutherland ... it’s a good look.”
At the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards on Monday, Jamaica’s rich culture was also on show, with superb performances from Tessanne Chin, whose rendition of Climb Every Mountain was inspiring; Ken Boothe, via video, with Speak Softly Love; ASHE with a suite of songs from dancehall and reggae in tribute to the artistes who were being honoured; and Irie Sistars, who performed hits such as Stepping Outta Babylon and Many are Called.
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