Anthony B Warns Of ‘Bad Beryl’
Rastafarian firebrand Anthony B has released a single called Bad Beryl, a song dedicated to Hurricane Beryl, the monster storm that has cut a swathe of devastation on its passage through the Caribbean.
“Watching the storm coming to Jamaica, a whole heap a prayer, a whole heap a strength send out and the protection of my people. That’s why I started out by saying thank you Father because the storm made a turn offa the island and we didn’t get the full effect because it even fall from 5 to category 4 as well. We are blessed that the island is not so damaged and we don’t have a massive death toll,” Anthony B told DancehallMag.
The Fire Pon Rome artist recorded the song at midnight via the Trainline Records imprint, a few hours after the storm skirted the island.
Hurricane Beryl claimed two lives during its passage along the south coast of Jamaica. The hurricane barrelled through the eastern Caribbean this week, leaving a wake of destruction: islands flattened, communities inundated, thousands homeless and at least eight people dead. More destruction may be in the offing as the system made landfall again early Friday morning, in Mexico, just northeast of Tulum on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Anthony B said that his ‘second instinct’ to write a song about the storm came when he saw the sangfroid and devil-may-care attitude of some young Jamaicans who frolicked as the storm raged, young carefree men ‘daggered’ skimpily-dressed women on police cars and indulging in ‘ackee-war’ playfights in the streets of Arnett Gardens.
“When I saw the TikTok and Youtube videos and the IG videos and see how the people dem a dance inna the storm and nuff ah dem no tek it serious and you know we a fun people, nuffa dem no tek it serious, but certain time come, yu have to take things serious,” Anthony B mused.
“That’s why me put a verse in the song addressing this attitude. I made it 12 in the night just after the storm, so this song can keep in our memory so we can remember. Remember Wild Gilbert in 1988, nuff yutes remember Gilbert because of that Lovindeer song. It is a reminder that generations can come and be reminded of this experience of Beryl,” Anthony B said.
The storm, which this week became the earliest Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, weakened early Friday, dropping to Category 2, with maximum sustained winds up to 110 miles an hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Anthony B said he hopes the song is a sobering reminder to the island’s youth.
“Everything in life is not a joke, everything in life is not a gimmick. We don’t want to see anyone cannot lose your life because of stupidity.”
He is shooting a video for the project.