JAMAICA
Archbishop Kenneth Richards of Kingston remixed dancehall artist Bounty Killer’s ‘Miss Ivy Last Son’ (Run come up inna me Magnum bwoy), replacing the violent imagery with words of hope and peace during the annual National Day of Prayer at the Power of Faith Ministries church in Portmore, January 5.
The Archbishop said that Jamaica has been bedevilled by gang violence and murders, according to a report by online news source Jamaica Star.
As the song says;
Run come up inna me Magnum bwoy
Stand up in front me shotgun bwoy
Disrespect Miss Ivy last son
And yuh life disappear.
A no warn me no warn yuh
A no tell me no tell yuh
Disrespect Miss Ivy last son
And him life disappear
Archbishop Richards said that the Church, which is united, is calling upon God to remove evil and unrighteousness from the land. He then launched into his remix of Bounty Killer’s 1995 hit song.
The online report stated that like a seasoned sound system selector, the Archbishop introduced the tune.
Run come up inna di church now bwoy
Listen to the gospel bwoy,
Siddung pon di church bench
And yuh life will change
A nuh warn me nuh warn yuh
A nuh tell me nuh tell yuh
Listen to the gospel
And yuh life will change
Earlier at the event, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that more than 70 per cent of murders committed in Jamaica are gang-related.
The Prime Minister, who appeared to be emotional, referred to the recent murder of two brothers—Dervin Jones, 43, and Sheldon Jones, 41—in Westmoreland and the killing of 10-year-old Jezariah Tyrell in a home attack in central Kingston.
PM Holness said he was haunted by the country’s murder wave. “I go to my bed with these things on my conscience every night. I know that I have tried. It’s a minefield because every turn you make, there is someone who is trying to stop it, and I have to wonder, are they in support of the criminals in the country?”
The Prime Minister also demonstrated his knowledge of popular culture and Jamaican music, telling the Archbishop that not only does Jamaica have a problem with an influx of illegal firearms entering the country, but that “these guns don’t join church”.
In response to the Archbishop’s remix, Bounty Killer (real name Rodney Basil Price) is said to be “delighting” in the Archbishop’s new “dubplate” according to dancehallmag.com (DancehallMag), a news magazine for dancehall and reggae fans around the world.