Agent Sasco Claps Back At Fan Who Said ‘Assassin’ Was Better
Dancehall deejay Agent Sasco had a solid comeback for a fan who expressed disappointment about his 2006 rebrand. The supporter, whose identity was withheld, noted that the entertainer’s music was far more appealing when he operated under the moniker ‘Assassin’.
“Personally think Assassin badder than Agent Sasco…the rebrand just wasn’t it for true Assassin fans…like myself,” they wrote.
It is safe to assume that they didn’t expect the Good Over Evil deejay to notice. He screenshot the tweet, and shared it to his Instagram timeline, to defend his “revamp”.
“NEWSFLASH ‼️ Assassin to Agent Sasco was not merely ‘rebranding.’ It was a ‘Mental Revamp.’ I decided my work should reflect my values and beliefs. So if you expect me to produce material from a 19 yr old “Assassin” perspective…good luck with that. Oh btw…Don’t expect me to release songs promoting murder nor anything to further societal decay either. 😎 #SascoVSAssassin,” he retorted.
Agent Sasco, whose given name Jeffery Campbell, has noted that the name ‘Assassin’ derived as a result of lyrically crushing his schoolmates in Dancehall clashing competitions in high school. However, over time, it had grown to be somewhat problematic.
He made the revelation during an interview on Radio Jamaica’s Two Live Crew, last year.
“The name change was necessary because the name ‘Assassin’ itself couldn’t grow into my future ambitions… But the point is, the name Assassin, is just the nature of the name and the negative connotations that immediately come, just couldn’t grow… and even for other considerations as well, so like search engine purposes…,” he explained to hosts Dahlia Harris and Wesley Burger at the time.
Sasco, who first came to public attention in 2000, had stated in March 2016 during a Reggae Talk event at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, that he had decided to adjust his name, on ‘January morning’ of 2006, and chose the name Agent Sasco as persons were already calling him many versions of Assassin, including Sasco.
According to The Gleaner, it came on the heels of the death of his mother in late October 2005.
At the time Sasco also said that on the worldwide front, after 9/11 the name Assassin became ‘a little jarring’ and in addition, while searching ‘Assassin’ on the internet the prominent results did not include him, but instead video games such as The Assassin’s Creed and things irrelevant to Dancehall or himself.
The Winning Right Now artist has also said that the name change was aimed at complementing his core beliefs. It was therefore imperative to have a “birth” of a new persona. It has been worth his while, since then.
“So a lot of the partnerships that I am able to pursue, at this time, being the JN ambassador, being an ambassador for recycling Partners of Jamaica, as well as an ambassador with the Ministry of National Security with the We Transform Programme, all those things are a little bit more seamless, because you don’t have to do any kind of gymnastics and explain the name,” he said.
Many of his fans, including his wife, Nicole McLaren-Campbell—a notable entrepreneur, came out in full support of his clap back on Monday morning.
McLaren-Campbell took a screenshot of his original post, and made her own, captioning, “If I never love him before I love him now! #principle #growth #courage”
Another supporter said, “If pause, reflect and re-set was a person ❤️.”
“THIS IS WHY HIM HAVE MY RATINGS AGENT SASCO…GROWTH,” commented one more supporter.
In 2020, Agent Sasco released Sasco Vs Assassin, a 5-track EP that explored his spiritual and musical journey with features from Chronixx, Sean Paul, and Kranium.