Kyle Butler Calls Out Rvssian For ‘Contradictory’ Stance On Alkaline 

Dynasty Records boss and music producer Kyle Butler has criticized Rvssian for being contradictory after quickly dismissing any opportunity to work with Champion Boy artist Alkaline, while also calling for the support of all Dancehall artists to ensure the genre’s global success.

“That’s picking sides. What he said was ‘no man mi good over yahso, a Gaza mi thing deh.’ That’s not unity,” Butler told DancehallMag. “The young youths them forward now and a show dem that unity is not picking sides, unity is just working but him preaching one bag a thing pon him platform but him spreading negativity and him laugh and this and dat and feel like a joke.”

During an interview with the Let’s Be Honest podcast last week, Rvssian pointed out that for a genre to have global recognition and success, it needed several top artists simultaneously making an impact, similar to how Afrobeats isn’t just about Burna Boy.

According to Rvssian, Dancehall’s focus on a single leading artist was holding back the genre. “We need to get rid of that; if we really love the music and want to make it grow, we have to come out of that mentality of saying ‘one man,’” he had said. “Realistically, we haffi support all a the man dem.”

Added Rvssian: “I tell you if we have 15 man running the thing, Afrobeats in a problem.”

However, during a subsequent interview with Quest Times, when asked whether he would work with Alkaline, the Dutty Money producer responded: “We good over yahsuh.”

Rvssian, whose real name is Tarik Johnston, got his break in music while affiliated with Portmore Empire/Gaza leader Vybz Kartel, for whom he produced several songs, including Life Sweet and Straight Jeans and Fitted, in 2010. Alkaline, who emerged in the early 2010s, is considered a Kartel nemesis.

Butler said that, as a producer, no artist could encourage or inveigle him to blackball another artist.

“That could never happen. The core of my thing is being neutral, is a record label mii have not one man and the longevity of my record label has to be based on inclusion cause a the end of the day if mi cut off every relationship for one artist and that artist cut me off then my career dead,” he reasoned.

Earlier this week, Butler also disagreed with Rvssian over the latter’s perspective on the influence of gatekeeping in the modern music business. Rvssian had opined that with the advent of the internet and digital platforms, independent artists now had more opportunities to reach audiences directly and could bypass traditional gatekeepers.

“Lets us bring gatekeeping back to dem days when producer a lock door pon artiste and artiste haffi a go a road and a beg fi dem songs to be played. Gatekeeping is basically limiting access to something. Isn’t that the same thing when dem naw voice the man dem until dem bus? So they are just hiding the fact that there is still gatekeeping but the truth is it’s still going on and it’s going on at the highest level,” Butler said.

He did agree that many artists leverage the internet and social media to break into mainstream music, but maintained that this practice does not eliminate gatekeeping.

Butler v. Brysco

Butler also recently faced vehement verbal assault from Dancehall artist Brysco, following his recent comments on The Fix podcast, where he criticized certain artists for begging producers for opportunities to feature on popular riddims. He had singled out Brysco, referring to a video where the Code artist appeared to be pleading with Rvssian for a spot on his Dutty Money riddim.

Butler had said, “The other day with the Brysco thing is like the man dem wah go pon dem knee and rae rea rae, I wasn’t with that where dem a like beg producer fi go pon a rhythm I wasn’t with that, artistes fi keep dem dignity and know say your time will come just gwaan hold out.”

Brysco held nothing back in response: “Hey bwoy go s##k yuh mada yuh hear and don’t feel like unno can come style man intelligently yuh hear cause me a madman and mi never beg fi go pon nothing, so mi no know how you come yahso and a talk and a talk. go s$$k out you mumma big p$^^y boy yuh hear, mi a tell yuh dat.”

“Some a unno a b##ty man cause some a unno no like nothing a keep weh no involve unno, a that mi notice bout some a unno cause it no have nothing fi do wid yuh hombre, nothing at all yuh hear..deal wid the man weh yuh attack bredda no come pon no interview cum tell nobody bout me go pon knee a beg fi rtyhm, the whole world know say mi never beg fi dat even the man weh authorize it know mi never beg fi dat,” he continued.

Butler, who produced Brysco’s song Where I’m From on the Still a Bleed riddim in 2021, has labeled Brysco as ungrateful and perfidious with short-term memory. He maintained that artists should not beg to be recorded and should keep their dignity and integrity.

“Brysco’s first song that got a million views was produced by Dynasty. Brysco came to Kingston with Tip God and literally begged me to go on the rhythm and me and deejay Mac allowed him to go on the rhythm. Mi never know him from Adams, mi never hear bout him before but him freestyled something and we thought him was a bad artiste so we voiced him and he went on to have a career after that. He is completely forgetting weh him a come from,” Butler told DancehallMag.

“Mi nave nothing fi say to a man weh ungrateful. The artist me meet back then is not the artist me see nowadays,” Butler added.

Butler also went live yesterday on his Instagram platform, playing Where I’m From in his car as he asked, “ A who produce this? Nuff a unno a sell out!”