Gully Bop’s Son, Neko, Steps Up To Bury His Father

Neko Malcolm, the youngest son of Dancehall artist Gully Bop, has stepped up to play a major role in the burial arrangements for his father. Bop’s brother Andrew Chamberlain highlighted Neko’s commitment and the family’s readiness to announce the funeral date soon.

“People have offered assistance, the other day, I spoke to Shauna Chin about the funeral and we come to an arrangement. But as to the actual funeral, ah the family have that lock already, his son, Neko work at one death parlour so him have it lock, he wants to take charge,” Chamberlain told DancehallMag.

Neko was the subject in A’mari DJ Mona-Lisa’s song of the same name.

“We have the date, ah just announce we want to announce, mi sister leave the island, when she forward, we announce it. Neko, the same one who mash up a Amari life, ah dat she say in her song, him ah do it,” Chamberlain said.

“Ah big yute who have his kids n everything, almost 30 years old,” he added.

Chamberlain said that Gully Bop squandered his wealth after he got his big break, and he’s paying little attention to social media opinions about the family’s inability to assist the Body Specialist deejay with his drug addiction and chronic homelessness when he was alive.

“Bop never really care fi nobody bury him. We never owe him no obligation, as everyone has dem own family. When him buss, I was not in the limelight wid him, everybody have family to look after, but ah Bop mek himself hungry, mi is just a welder yute a try. What the man mek in less than a year, mi never mek inna one lifetime. Bop squander his money, when him a tek drugs, nobody caan talk to him, what can we do?” Chamberlain asked.

Gully Bop, whose real name was Robert Lee Malcolm, died on October 31st after a prolonged kidney-related illness. Gully Bop is survived by his kids, Nicky, Debreka, and Neko Malcolm.

At the time of his death, the deejay was reportedly living with his mother in Grants Pen, a far cry from the dizzying heights of fame he reached between the years 2014 to 2016 when he was the toast of the dancehall world.

“People just talk, dem never understand,” he added. “We just know what is what. When him ready fi bun him weed, him don’t want anyone round him.”

Chamberlain hit out at the social media trolls who have been alleging that he has “been riding on Bop’s name” after the welder-amateur singer’s appearance on CVM’s Onstage with Winford Williams.

“Dem say mi ah try ride him name, but mi is a welder, mi play sound and mi do karaoke, and ah long time mi ah do it. People never know say ah mi bredda, when dem see me a karaoke, dem just feel say mi ah do Bop song, dem never know say ah mi bredda, him never share the limelight with me,” he said.

Chamberlain said that he hasn’t spoken to Gully Bop’s estranged wife, Deborrah Nicholson-Malcolm, since the entertainer’s death. He dismissed any talk of Gully Bop’s ex, Amari “Dj Mona Lisa”.

“Mi more understand Shauna Chin, the wife reach out, but why call and yu nah present yourself?” he asked.

“If we did a wait pon her, all now we wouldn’t get the body. She mussi a wait pon livestream, gonna reach out and find out what a gwaan wid her still.”

Gully Bop rose to fame when a video of him freestyling on YouTube made the rounds on social media. From there, the “Dem Nuh Bad Like Me” artist was able to secure a deal with Claims Records and even toured internationally. His fame swept the island, and he was featured at Sting 2014. He eventually split ways with Claims Records after they said he had become disrespectful.

After that, he encountered a litany of problems, which included charges of domestic abuse and robbery. Former girlfriend and manager A’mari DJ Mona Lisa accused him of “running her down with a butcher knife” and stealing her passport and United States Green Card. Gully Bop was released on US$1,200 bail when he appeared in the Brooklyn Criminal Court. The charges were later dropped.

After that, there were rumors that he had lost all the money he had accumulated during his music career and at one time, he was reportedly homeless. His last major brush with the law came with assault occasioning bodily harm in 2018.

In a report to Morant Bay Police, his wife, Nicholson-Malcolm accused Gully Bop of hitting her in the face during a dispute in Nuts River district. Gully Bop was reportedly given two years’ probation in 2019 and she left Jamaica shortly after that.