Bounty Killer Hails YG Marley’s Hit Song As Proof Reggae Is Not Dead
Declaring that YG Marley’s debut single Praise Jah in the Moonlight’s ascension on various global charts is a prime indication that Reggae music is alive and kicking, Bounty Killer has again called upon his younger Jamaican compatriots to sing songs of substance.
On Wednesday, the Warlord said the song’s success not only affirmed that the Reggae genre remains the world’s greatest but that it was not on the decline as some people have been arguing. The Lord is My Light and Salvation artist also turned to the Book of Isiah to drive home his point.
“Who and who did said Reggae dead is only fi dem big head dead. Watch a little youth came with a wild fire Reggae song that’s storming through every charts worldwide. A child shall lead the way,” he wrote in an Instagram post, referencing Isaiah 11 verse 6.
“So my fellow young Jamaicans stop singing the f-ckery and sing world language we have the biggest music,” he stated.
The song, released independently on December 27, has reached a new peak on the US Billboard Hot 100 at No. 39 after spending four weeks on the chart. It’s the first Reggae track on the coveted chart since Damian ‘Jr Gong’ Marley‘s Welcome To Jamrock, which peaked at No. 55 in 2005, and his BAM collab with Jay-Z, which peaked at No. 47 in 2017.
Praise Jah In The Moonlight — which credits YG’s grandfather, Bob Marley, and his mother, Lauryn Hill, as co-writers — has also reached new peaks on several other international charts, including No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 20 on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100, and No. 14 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
On Saturday, the song surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify.
In the comments, Bounty noted: “The song is a soulful and meaningful one ☝🏿.”
When one commenter argued that “the song is good but he gets more recognition cause he’s a Marley…”, Bounty replied: “all of that is true but it’s a really good song so it doesn’t matters☺️”.
Bounty’s comments were endorsed by One Day producer Seanizzle who described the track as “World Song!!”
His Alliance compatriot Bling Dawg, also chimed in. “Big song bro No caps 🔥🔥🔥🔥🎶🎶🎶🎶🌐📍 ARTHENTIC reggae music and them a say reggae dead. Jah music always fine away positive vibes!” he stated.
Bounty Killer’s comments about Praise Jah In the Moonlight’s success comes just over a week after Coolie Dance producer Skatta Burrell lamented the decline of Reggae music in Jamaica. In an Instagram post, Skatta lamented the absence of new artists with the same level of prowess as the genre’s legends and what he described as a shift away from the traditional drum and bass or one drop style which characterized the music of icons such as Bob Marley.
Skatta had said that whilst Reggae Revival artists and Rising Stars winners Romaine Virgo and Chris Martin had done exceptionally well in the genre, he was concerned that many members of the upcoming generation of Reggae artists continue to struggle to break through to wider audiences.
Bounty, in March last year, had lamented that Dancehall was being held back by unappealing, silly content.
In an interview with I Never Knew TV, he had attributed the perceived stagnancy in present-day Dancehall to what he described as the “fool-fool”, internationally unappealing topics, such as Obeah and lotto scamming (chopping), which were being promoted by upcoming artists.
He had also pointed out that many of the songs that were being recorded, whilst they were ‘full of lyrics,’ lacked grooves and melodies and contained downright silly content, which music lovers in and outside of Jamaica are not interested in listening to. Bounty had also said that unless this problem is remedied, the genre would remain in the perceived doldrums and not regain the acclaim it once held.
Back in March 2021, the Head of the Institute of Caribbean Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niiah, had also argued that Jamaican Reggae was facing an imminent threat due to the actions of its own countrymen in both academia and the music industry itself.
At the time, she said that the country might need to undergo another Reggae Revival, as the genre was under threat of being arrogated by other countries due to the nation’s own artists seemingly steering clear, once again, of recording songs within the genre.