Murda She Wrote: November 2022
Busta Rhymes on his new track with Skillibeng, plus new music from Chronic Law, Valiant, Popcaan and King Cruff.
by Reshma B
Whether your menu includes tofu or turkey, November is a perfect time for giving thanks. As the year comes to a close, we can take stock of the ups and downs we’ve gone through and reflect: What have been our proudest moments? What would we do differently if we had the chance? “Every man thinketh his burden is the heaviest,” Bob Marley once sang. “But who feels it knows it.” No matter how you’re feeling about 2022, if you’re healthy and making plans for the future, you have a lot to be thankful for.
Each and every month, reggae and dancehall artists bless us with an abundance of musical gifts. Murda She Wrote is an expression of gratitude, as we highlight the very best. With that in mind, let’s get to the tunes.
Busta Rhymes x Skillibeng
“Bulletproof Skin”
On a chilly November evening in Manhattan’s trendy NoMad district, an exclusive members-only club was packed with the likes of Dave East, Giggs, Rowdy Rebel and Murda Mook to celebrate the release of Busta Rhymes’ new EP, The Fuse Is Lit. Of course Busta’s faithful hype man Spliff Star was in the building as well, popping bottles of Moët and Hennessy in honor of the artist he considered a brother way before they rose to the top of the rap game.
Busta’s new five-track project includes guest appearances by hip-hop stars like Swizz Beatz and Conway the Machine as well as Capella Grey, the Bronx-based singer and songwriter who gave us the 2021 hit “Gyalis” (and who attended the release event). Busta gets in his dancehall bag with “Bulletproof Skin,” a ballistic collaboration with blazing-hot dancehall star Skillibeng, whose “Whap Whap” has become a worldwide street anthem. The past year has been a crazy ride for the young Jamaican artist, who performed on stages ranging from the Wireless Festival in the U.K. to Drake’s birthday party in Miami, not to mention recent collabs with Wizkid, Skepta and DJ Khaled.
Raised by Jamaican parents between Brooklyn and Long Island, Busta has been inspired by dancehall since his school days, when he used to sell pause tapes made from the radio to pay for his Puma suedes. “Shabba was the father for me,” Busta said during a recent studio listening session. “The wardrobe, the jewelry, the voice, kickin’ up your foot, the hands in the air? I brought all of that to rap. Ahahaha!” Over the years he has collaborated with an entire galaxy of reggae and dancehall stars, from Bob Marley to Vybz Kartel. (Check out this playlist of Busta Rhymes Dancehall Essentials for a quick refresher.)
Considering his deep love for dancehall, Busta is not amused when he sees Jamaica sounds used as a gimmick by pop stars with little respect for the roots of the sound. “There’s a lot of misrepresentation of reggae culture,” Busta told me. “The truth is the truth. Motherfuckers don’t rep the culture right, they should be called out. That’s a part of the beauty of dancehall culture. That’s why we clash! If you nah have your lyrics them right, come offa the bloodclaat stage!”
By the time Busta pulled up to his release party it was around 2 a.m. When DJ Suss One dropped the Skillibeng collab, the whole place went mad. “Yo the song came about crazy,” said Busta, who recorded with Skilli at Cool & Dre’s Miami studio. “Some real bumbaclaat badman thing.”
Chronic Law
“Nuh Nice”
“Fiction is rare in my lyrics,” says Chronic Law, the latest dancehall sensation from the Eastern Jamaican parish of St. Thomas, along with Popcaan, Skillibeng and Jada Kingdom. His dark compositions have made him one of the most popular streaming artists in Jamaica, sometimes outpacing the biggest names in the dancehall.
Ever since he was a student at Morant Bay High School, the youth born Akeeme Campbell has been writing his own songs, breaking through in 2018 with melodic gangsta tunes like “Hill Top Badness” and “Government.” On “Love Gamble,” the artist notes that he “only build pain and war songs,” adding that he’s been unlucky in affairs of the heart. “Of course me try love thing,” he sang, “but it never last long.”
The prolific artist known as the Law Boss says he currently has five albums ready to go. He’s been on a roll lately, dropping multiple songs this month including “No Regrets,” “Alert” and “Midnight Approach,” all of them exploring the bleak emotional terrain that accompanies violent crime. On “Kingston Ice” he collaborates with Shawn Storm, an artist who’s currently serving time on a murder charge. On “Gone Too Soon,” he laments the death of a close friend.
“Nuh Nice,” on Chase Millz Records’ Green Dot riddim, sounds like a guided tour of Jamaica, with the underlying message being that nowhere on the island is really safe. “Spain nuh nice, Back Bush nuh nice,” Chronic Law sings. “Full a strap like say we do the biggest gun heist. Portland nuh nice, Rockfort nuh nice. St. James badness well organize.” And so it goes, town by town, as Law Boss breaks down the real-life situation in his beautiful island homeland. No wonder Chronic Law’s somber soundtrack resonates with all those caught up in the struggle.
Valiant
“Scholar”
Although he’s been making music for several years now, Valiant has suddenly become a hot topic during the latter part of 2022, thanks to a run of big songs like “Siance,” “C.A.L (Cut All Losses)” and “North Carolina.” His recent hit “Dunce Cheque” stirred up controversy when a government minister took time out to criticize the song. Robert “Nesta” Morgan joined the chorus of Jamaican politicians calling out dancehall artists when he posted a video describing his horror at discovering his son listening to Valiant’s lyrics. “I wonder when did dunce become fashionable?” Minister Morgan asked.
In the video for “Dunce Cheque,” Valiant can be seen acting up in a classroom, dressed in a khaki school uniform, a backpack on his back, gripping a bottle of champagne while surrounded by pretty girls and singing “money ah di subject.” With dancehall music the shock value is part of the point, so being dissed by the powers-that-be is pretty much the best promotion any artist could hope for.
Seizing the moment, Valiant wasted no time recording “Scholar,” a powerful response to the minister’s critique. The Damage Music production opens with a sample of Morgan’s soundbite, and then as the beat drops, the 24-year-old born Raheem Bowes speaks his side of the story. “Please don’t judge me,” Valiant says. “Don’t call me a duncehead. I’m a work in progress.” When Valiant sings “feel fi build a boat and run ’way. Nuttin nah gwan inna the country,” it’s safe to assume that many of his fans can relate. Songs like “Scholar” give inspiration to the young people that society seems to have given up on. In the process, it proves that Valiant isn’t a dunce at all.
Popcaan
“One Way”
Reggae artists have been singing about repatriation to the motherland for ages, but dancehall’s Unruly Boss is one of the few to actually follow through on the concept. “Africa is a must!” says Popcaan, who purchased a house in Ghana back in 2020. Jamaica and Ghana share deep cultural ties, as many of the enslaved people forcibly brought to the Caribbean island trace their roots to the West African nation. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo visited Jamaica a few years ago to encourage more visitors and investment, and Popcaan put his money down to make it happen.
As an indication of how much clout the dancehall superstar has in Ghana, when Popcaan tweeted earlier this year that he would like to see a direct flight between the two nations, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism answered in a public statement that “we believe we can do it.”
“Baby, mek we fly go Ghana,” Poppy sings on a new track, “One Way,” over a warm and easy rhythm courtesy of U.K. producer Mini E5. “Take a par with yuh future baby father.” The video for “One Way” was shot in the streets of Ghana’s capital, Accra, with a cameo appearance by local dancehall star Stonebwoy. Popcaan has also announced plans to host a launch event in Ghana for his fifth studio album, Great Is He. Today marks the release of his single “Next to Me” featuring Toni-Ann Singh, the Jamaican beauty queen who inspired his recent collab with Burna Boy.
King Cruff
“Samurai Chop”
“Cruff” is not a nice thing to call someone. The Jamaican slang term usually refers to a “wutless” individual, a person who’s lacking in ambition or potential. The Canadian recording artist King Cruff aims to put his own spin on the concept, his name embodying a sense of duality. “Remember that the sword has a double edge,” he raps at the top of “Samurai Chop,” his bouncy debut single on the major-label imprint Tuff Gong Collective. “Watch where you walk.”
“I’m a big fan of songs that have one vibe but the lyrics tell a different story,” Cruff says in a press release. “‘Samurai Chop’ is about the party lifestyle and how chatter and drama can bleed into it.”
Hailing from London, Ontario, Cruff was born Solomon Marley-Spence. His mother is Stephanie Marley, daughter of Bob and Rita. “The line that really influenced the song was ‘Words cut deep like a samurai chop,’” Cruff says. “My mom always said that words have power and I believe in that.”
Along with his legendary grandfather and new-school reggae stars like Chronixx and Runkus, Cruff counts Kendrick Lamar, André 3000 and MF Doom as inspirations. Although his music leans more toward hip-hop than the reggae sounds his family is known for, Cruff’s bars and beat selection have a distinctive dancehall flair. He’s already at work on his debut album, which promises to defy any and all expectations. Consider him the 2022 version of what Bob meant when he sang about “rebel music.”
