Bounty Killer @ Best of Both Worlds (Roseland Ballroom 09.05.09)

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of being in the Roseland Ballroom to witness Bounty Killer live for the first time in my life. Beenie Man also performed that night as the headliner and birthday boy. His performance left much to be desired for me. Wasn't as good as the the first time I saw him perform almost 10 years ago @ Howard University. The star of the night for me was definitely Bounty Killer. His half hour was chock full of hits. He kept the talking to a minimum but when he did speak it didn't fall on deaf ears (nor was his speech met by any boos to my pleasant surprise). The crowd listen captivated as he went in on his new archnemesis, his son in the business, Vybz Kartel and the trends he is spreading in Dancehall. From Kartel's tight pants to his bleaching and calling himself the devil, Bounty Killer warned the people to be careful which trends they follow. Then he went into Chattabox one of the 5 songs he's released in the last 3 weeks aimed at Kartel. Check the video:



The audio isn't that great but from the video you can see Bounty Killer's focus. I wish there was more of the show available online. After he got through dissing Kartel he let the people know that Dancehall is not without morals and anyone who styles themself as the Poor People's Governor must make social commentary and can't only make music about fun and partying. He spoke about books being taxed in Jamaica and that things of that nature are sending poor people into a deeper depression. He then went into a song using crowd participation call (i'm assuming lol) "What Dem Expect We Fi Do" and then into his hit "Book, Book, Book". All in all his set was
captivating and energetic. I will not be present @ Sting unfortunately but after seeing this performance I can't wait to see (via Youtube.com obviously lol) how Sting '09 shapes up. Will he walk out on Kartel? Will Hellboy run?? We'll see. Until then I will revel in my getting to see the Warlord live on stage for FREE! It was
quite the experience.