Bounty Killer, Jamaicans Upset After Kanye West Receives Marcus Garvey Award: “Busta Rhymes Should Be Getting That”

Black History Month closed on a sour note for some Jamaicans who took umbrage that rapper Kanye West received an award named after Jamaica’s first national hero, Marcus Garvey.

Loudest among such persons was the Warlord, Bounty Killer, who entered the chat via an outlet’s comments section on Instagram. “Wtf he has done for Jamaica though ppl?” the Dancehall vanguard asked. “What a piece [a] groupie move. Is Busta Rhymes should be getting that, real advocate of Jamaican culture worldwide.”

West was honored by the Chicago Music Awards with the Marcus Garvey Humanitarian Award under the tag “Bringing Nations Together Through Music and Culture.”

However, many were quick to point out the contentious emcee’s erratic views which are seldom aligned with the Pan-African pioneer’s teachings.

Though it was popularized by Bob Marley, one of Garvey’s most profound sayings, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery,” was a mantra he lived to the hilt. His persuasive Black Nationalist philosophies inspired countless freedom movements such as Rastafarianism and The Black Panther Party.

On the other hand, Kanye West sent tongues wagging after a foot-in-mouth TMZ interview in 2018, in which he declared that “slavery was a choice”, while donning the Trump-touted emblem of racism, a MAGA hat. The 43-year-old mogul’s lack of a real connection with Jamaica has upset some people and convinced others that his award is yet another case of ‘yaad style’ clickbait.

Record label and talent management group Pop Style Music also rubbished the move on Twitter, saying, “It’s some Chicago Music Awards arbitrarily using Garvey’s name trying to get headlines like this for publicity and hope Yeezy notices them. Clickbait.”

Chicago Music Awards’ Jamaican curator, Ephraim Martin, was equally as baffled by the decision. He told the Gleaner that although he was “a bit taken aback”, West did in fact have the paper trail to prove his tireless philanthropy, especially during the taxing pandemic.

He’s been unwavering in his small business bail-outs for those hardest hit by the pandemic and secured full college savings fund for Gianna Floyd, the 6-year-old daughter of George Floyd who died at the hands of Minneapolis police.

“Kanye getting this award is kind of a surprise to me. But he has been making contributions to different countries, and he came out on top of all [the other persons] in that category.”

“I don’t know if Kanye would be my first choice, there were a few other persons from Chicagoland”, said Martin, who’s also the founder of the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA). He noted that other nominees such as Chicago businessman and politician Willie Wilson fit the bill as they were actively charitable, but he had already won the award.

The clickbait sentiment is one shared by Steven Golding, president of the Garvey-founded Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). While agreeing that Garveyites have no exclusive rights to the Marcus Garvey name, he asserted that not every project or award pegged to the Pro-Black leader conveys a sense of authenticity. Sometimes, “recipients are chosen for their celebrity status and the attention that they can bring to the event,” Golding said.

Kanye West visited Jamaica twice in recent times — last November’s studio session with reggae veteran Buju Banton and 2019’s exciting Sunday Service event at Emancipation Park in Kingston. Ironically, Kanye angered many Jamaicans on that occasion as well and earned himself a reproach from the government after it was discovered he was selling pricey event merch on his website that bore the national symbols.

Meanwhile, another Garvey controversy stirred on social media following news that Winston Duke would portray Marcus Garvey in the upcoming Amazon movie, Marked Man. The Tobago-born actor most noted for playing M’baku in The Black Panther film will portray the venerated Pan-Africanist whose ideals sought to unify and connect people of African descent worldwide.

Despite Duke expressing on Instagram how honored he was to be selected “as a Caribbean immigrant, activist, and global citizen”, some internet users, however, still felt Jamaican talent would have been a more suitable and deserving choice.