The Jamaican government recently presented dancehall legends Beenie Man and Bounty Killer with the Order of Distinction – the Caribbean nation’s fourth highest honor. The dancehall stars in an interview with The Gleaner said that being conferred with such an honor was worth more than receiving a Grammy or any other award.
The pair received the honors on Monday, October 21, which marked Jamaica’s Heroes Day. It also came after they were presented with the Reggae Icon Award on Jamaica’s Independence Day.
“I’m feeling very thankful and very grateful because when you get recognised by yuh country … by the Government … is different from a Grammy Award or MOBO Award or an African award,” Beenie Man, born Moses Anthony Davis, told the news outlet. “This means more to me because I am a Jamaican who live in Jamaica and mi nuh plan fi move.”
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Bounty Killer, whose real name is Rodney Basil Price, similarly expressed his joy over being honored with the Order of Distinction. “You know they say a king never crown in his country. What you call this now?” the Grammy-nominated musician asked. “This is like getting an award from your parent.”
Beenie Man and Bounty Killer were part of 150 Jamaicans who were honored at the event that was held at the National Indoor Sports Centre. The pair received the honors for contributing toward the development of Jamaican music, The Gleaner reported.
The pair touched on how their awards were going to positively impact the music industry, saying that they were “extremely happy.” Beenie Man, 51, said it was his wish that “dancehall gets the hard-work message.” He also shared his happiness about him and Bounty Killer being honored the same year.
“It means that hard work pays off,” Bounty Killer, 52, added. “Although is not all of us get to achieve this in the time when we can celebrate it. So for us to get it in a prime time like this when I am in my fifties and can laugh and talk and shout about it, it’s a big thing. And then it shows that dancehall artistes are keeping it on a level where recognition is coming, especially from home.
“For young artistes, it shows that if you keep good character and personality, you can achieve all these things. Hard work pays off … after a couple decades. And this is not just for Bounty. This is is for the whole industry … see Mr G stand up here beside me here. I really appreciate it, and I really look forward to the younger artistes coming up to get recognised like this.”
Asked if he ever envisioned receiving such an honor in his career, Bounty Killer said no. “To be true, I never really expect this because I never saw my peers getting this. It’s only recently that I saw the Shabba Ranking and the Charlie Chaplains and a few of the dancehall artistes on stage,” he said.
“The singers used to get it, but they never used to give deejays, so hats off to Tony Rebel , Wayne Marshall, Shabba Ranks. And congrats to all of us here today … Beenie, Admiral Bailey, and Nadine Sutherland … it’s a good look.”
Bounty Killer and Beenie Man are remembered for having a heated rivalry in the 1990s. They quashed their beef a few years ago and gave fans a memorable and electrifying show when they faced off in the ‘Verzuz’ Battle of Dancehall Legends in May 2020.
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