Heds and Dreds: Bounty Killer’s Greatest Hip-Hoperas

Words by Jesse Serwer

Bounty Killer is dancehall’s king of beef. It’s fitting that the man who calls himself the Warlord (and who has recently revived his longstanding and somewhat career-defining feud with Beenie Man) would find synergy with Mobb Deep, a group whose career has been similarly colored by static with other artists. The brand-new tune “Dead Man’s Shoes,” featured here last week, isn’t the first time these generals have joined forces on a war chant: Bounty first linked with Prodigy and Havoc 13 years ago, on “Dead Zone” from his Next Millenium album. In fact, Bounty has collaborated with and featured on songs by more rappers than almost any other major dancehall artist. (How ahead of the game has Bounty been with this hip-hop stuff? He had DJ Khaled do the intro to one of his albums way back in 2002—did you know who Khaled was back then?) And for the most part, these connections have been rock solid. Seeing how Bounty has turned up in almost every one of my Heds and Dreds columns, from those on Smif N Wessun to our latest with Special Ed, it seemed only right to turn the tables and spotlight him this time.

Bounty Killer feat. Junior Reid and Busta Rhymes, “Change Like the Weather” (1996)

Bounty’s 1996 album My Xperience, released jointly on TVT and VP Records, was loaded with hip-hop collaborations. This Erick Sermon-produced single and its colorful, MTV-aired video featured a then-rising Busta Rhymes, fresh off of his solo breakthrough with “Woo Haa!,” and Junior Reid, a guy who might be the only Jamaican artist who’s collaborated with the most rappers in his career.

Bounty Killer feat. The Fugees, “Hip-Hopera (Mr. Punx)” (1996)

Before MTV’s Carmen and even Prince Paul’s Prince Among Thieves, Bounty and the Fugees realized the possibilities in hip-hop and opera. This song was not that well received at the time, but it’s aged nicely. Who can front on Wyclef singing,”Michael Jackson brought you Thriller, It made all the gunmen holler/ Refugees with Bounty Killer, Mack 11, guard your grilla” TUUUUUUUNE.

Bounty Killer feat. Jeru Tha Damaja, “Suicide or Murder” (1996)

My personal favorite among the rap tracks on My Xperience re-purposed the beat from Blahzay Blahzay’s “Danger.” That tune is sometimes confused for a Jeru the Damaja track, due to a combination of the sample of Jeru in its hook, and the relative obscurity of Blahzay Blahzay. “Suicide or Murder” adds to that confusion, bringing Jeru back into the mix over that beat, before shifting, mid-song, into Raekwon’s “Ice Cream.” Speaking of Raekwon….

Bounty Killer feat. Raekwon “War Face (Ask Fi War)” (1996)

At a time when Wu-Tang was at its peak, Bounty and team got RZA to remix his “Ask Fi War,” for My Xperience, and the results were savage. Raekwon’s first verse (he does two) is just plain classic: “Relax your sole, like Clarks from England…”

Bounty Killer feat. Masta Killa, “Eyes A Bleed (RZA Remix)” (1996)

Though not on My Xperience, RZA also remixed Bounty’s “Eyes A Bleed,” in ’96, turning the track into a meeting of the Killers, Bounty and Masta, the latter dropping a sharp verse with all of the usual Jamaican references rappers make (Clarks, Sunsplash). If only Ghostface would have joined them, too, the Killer/Killa/Killah trifecta would have been complete.

Bounty Killer feat. Noreaga, “Next Millenium” (1998)

After the relative success of My Xperience—which didn’t break Bounty commercially in the US, but certainly made him a valuable commodity in hip-hop circles—the Five-Star General delivered another rapper-heavy LP for the follow-up, Next Millenium. Hip-hop producer Knobody (of “Can’t Knock the Hustle” fame) does a pretty good job on the title track of seamlessly merging dancehall and hip-hop elements into one fluid beat. N.O.R.E. too mentions Clarks in his verse: by now, this was protocol for rappers collaborating with dancehall artists, and Bounty specifically.

Bounty Killer feat. Mobb Deep and Big Noyd, “Dead Zone” (1998)

For the first Bounty/Mobb tête à tête, Bad Boy’s Nashiem Myrick, producer of Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya” among other gully ’90s rap classics, used the same Midnight Express theme sample that J Dilla would later sample for his oft-used “Phantom of the Synths” beat.

Kardinal Offishall feat. Bounty Killer, “BaKardi Slang Refix” (2002)

This remix to Kardinal Offishall’s “BaKardi Slang” (read more on that in our Kardi Heds and Dreds piece here) appeared on Bounty’s 2002 VP Records album Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery; the suo also teamed for a track called “Sick,” which appeared as the B-side to Kardi’s “Belly Dancer” single, around the same period.

Swizz Beats feat. Bounty Killer, “Guilty” (2003)

Swizz Beats’ somewhat forgotten first solo album G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories was more about getting different artists on his beats than the rapper ambitions of his 2007 release One Man Band Man, but on this collaboration with Bounty, they both hold their own on the mic.

AZ feat. Bounty Killer, “Envious” (2005)

AZ’s A.W.O.L. went pretty much double wood but it had some joints. Among the most undeniable was this MoSS-produced link with Bounty. The highlight of which, for me at least, is hearing Bounty shout out “Poughkeepsie.”