Dave Kelly Hints At New Music With Bounty Killer And Cham
Dancehall superstars Cham and Bounty Killer linked up with iconic Madhouse producer Dave “Rude Bwoy” Kelly recently, with the trio hinting that new music might be in the making from them.
Cham and Bounty shared a rare photo of themselves with Kelly, sitting betwixt them, all three clad in black. As usual, the Showtime producer does not show his face but has his head lowered and shielded by a cap.
“Do You Know What This Means? #BountyKiller, No Face No Case #DaveKElly And The Kid 😉#BAbyCham⏰💣,” he captioned the post, which attracted a series of comments from other producers among them Notnice, Stephen Di Genius Mcgregor, Seanizzle, Teflon and Red Rat, as well as Usain Bolt.
On Kelly’s Madhouse Instagram page, the same photo was shared, but with the caption: “madhouserecords
Should we? @thecham @grunggaadzilla #dancehall #triedtestedproven #davekelly ⏱💣,” to the delight of followers.
Cham was the one who introduced Bounty and Kelly to each other, back in the 1990s, after which the men went on to record some of the biggest social commentary songs in Dancehall. The two men are among several veteran artists who will headline Reggae Sumfest’s Madhouse Tribute to Dave Kelly on Saturday, July 23, the others being Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, Spragga Benz, Frisco Kid and Mr. Easy.
In July last year, Cham had revealed that he had encouraged Bounty Killer to voice for Kelly, as he knew that whatever they came up with in the studio, would be nothing short of masterpieces, since he knew within himself, that Bounty Killer had the greatest deejay voice in Dancehall history.
“It was when he lost his visa and we had met up at a party at the time and I told him that ‘yow, I think you and Dave should link’. Because just him (Bounty Killer’s) deejay technique to me is rawest, purest delivery I have ever heard from anyone you see deejaying in studio,” Cham had told Television Jamaica’s Anthony Miller.
Cham had also confirmed that Bounty’s songs Anytime on the Brukout riddim in 1999 and Poor People Fed Up were written by Kelly, and recorded at his Madhouse studios. According to Cham, they became instant classics because of the Coppershot deejay’s style and vocals, and especially his “aggression”.
Dave Kelly also produced Bounty Killer’s Cant Believe Mi eyes, which was a part of the Warlord’s Next Millennium album.
Bounty and Cham had also teamed up for Another Level on Kelly’s Bug riddim in 1999, on which some of Dancehall’s greatest classics such as the Warlord’s Look into My Eyes and Cham’s own Ghetto Pledge were voiced, and which effectively slowed down the tempo of Dancehall songs which were going at 100 beats per minute, at the time, resulting in Bounty not deejaying, but singing Look into My Eyes.
Bounty Killer and Cham had fallen out in 2000.
That rift between the two began after the Coppershot artist questioned Cham’s loyalty and accused him of being too Americanized, this after he engaged in a series of collaborations with American rapper Foxy Brown and others.
However, Bounty, in a Teach Dem interview in December, had said that he was the one at fault, as his overreaction following Cham’s failure to show up for his Saddle to The East concert, started the ruption with the Sherlock Crescent native, which by extension, included Dave Kelly.
He said that both men were innocent, but that the associated embarrassment after Cham failed to show up to perform at his Saddle to The East concert, “brought out his emotions”.
“All a dem deh a misunderstanding dem when mi head neva used to work good, when mi used to dark,” Bounty had explained, chuckling as he reminisced.
“Cham neva do nuttn neida. Me just bex how Cham nuh come a Saddle 2000, ova Polo Club. Caw Cham don’t come a di show, das all. Caw even if me and yuh have di problem, you coulda still come a di show becaw yuh advertise to yuh fans already. Just don’t miss di show; jus do di show an mek wi work out wi difference. Caw him seh mi seh suppm weh him feel offensive toward his album that he’s putting out. Which it wasn’t direct to him, but to di type a album weh him a mek, him coulda feel a way fi true,” Bounty had mused.
Bounty said at the time he felt that based on the relationship that they had prior to his comments about the album, Cham should have still showed up to perform at the event and then parted company with him after. He said after realizing that he had erred he had called Cham to mend fences.
“Den now, it was me who took up my phone, and just call Cham outta di blues and seh: ‘Cham a weh me and you did have agen?’ And him caan memba. An me caan memba. Suh yuh know, we good den…, and me an di man just reconcile and nobaddy nuh even know it happen. Caw mi realise, ‘no, mi mek a error’. Dem yute yah a good people,” he said.
After the truce was made in 2005, Bounty and Cham performed together at a Hot Mondays anniversary show, and in 2010 the three joined Dave to produce the single, Stronger , which also featured Mykal Rose, released in October that year. Dave and Bounty had also followed up with the single titled The Message on the Turn it Up riddim.
Cham had explained during the Television Jamaica interview, that he had held no hard feelings against the Warlord, as he knew he had a demanding temperament, but had not acted out of malice.
“Yeah, it is one a dem ting where Rodney is an individual, when him don’t get him way him just lose it, but him know me and him know that wouldn’t throw me off at the same time. I wasn’t getting distracted by that. I saw that the gate was open and we knew that we could get few number ones. We knew we could hit the Billboard the right way, so that wouldn’t distract me at the time,” Cham said in explaining the situation.
During the interview with Miller, Cham, in elucidating his point about Bounty’s vocals, had said that his booming voice and commanding delivery, have put him in a class by himself and at the pinnacle of Dancehall deejaying, unmatched by any of his predecessors or his contemporaries.
“Mi study Shabba, mi study Buju, study Beenie, study Major Worries, Yellowman – and none a dem, to me caan deejay like Bounty Killer. Mi naw guh seh Killa is the best lyricist or di best writer, but deejay,” he had said.