Bounty Killer has seemingly confirmed that Sting 2023 is his last performance on the iconic show.
The Boxing Day event left fans with mixed feelings after the show ended in an onstage brawl between Fully Bad and Honormosity and their respective crews. Bounty Killer also received some criticisms from promoter Isaiah Laing, who blamed the dancehall legend’s impatience for delays on the show that saw some legendary artists not performing.
Bounty Killer has since shared his reaction to his set at Sting 2023, hinting that it might be his last time gracing the stage at Jamworld. “1993 – 2023 Dat a Dat,” he wrote on IG while sharing a clip of his performance with Baby Cham performing their collab “Time Bomb.”
Spragga Benz, who vented about not being able to perform, blamed unnamed artists for derailing his set. Some fans quickly pointed fingers at Bounty Killer. “How mi observe some artist move at stage shows is like nobody else no fi have nothing where music is concerned,” Spragga wrote.
Spragga Benz also apologized to his fans for not being able to perform and pledged to make it up to them at a future, more organized event.
Bounty Killer first graced the Sting stage thirty years ago, in 1993, when he famously clashed with Beenie Man in what went down in dancehall’s history as one of the greatest clashes of all time. That event led the two dancehall artists, whose careers were just taking off, to become lifelong rivals and a lyrical feud that spans the rest of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Bounty Killer and Beenie Man eventually made peace and have since become friends. However, both artists would agree that their rivalry helped catapult their careers to greater heights, making them two of the greatest Jamaican artists ever to take up the mic.
This year’s performance by Bounty could very well be the end of his Sting era, but fans will continue to get new music from the Warlord.
Despite his legendary status in dancehall, Bounty Killer received much criticism from promoter Isaiah Laing for performing before his slot.
“We were running 25 minutes behind for the Giants,” Laing told the Gleaner. “Tanya [Stephens] was supposed to work before Capleton, but the Fireman had asked to work at a certain time so we sent him on. After Tanya, it was supposed to be Spragga Benz, then Anthony B and then Bounty Killer, but Bounty didn’t wait his turn.”
“To be fair, Bounty had requested to perform at 5 a.m., but he should have waited,” the veteran promoter added. “If the show had gone according to the order, there would have been no clash because there wouldn’t be any time for it. Bounty had a long set, and after him it would be Tommy Lee closing the show … and Tommy had called to say that he was on his way.”
Laing said he tried to stop Bounty Killer from going on stage, but the dancehall legend went anyway.
“Sting is iconic to Jamaica … it is a part of our culture … and it needs to be fully sponsored. I am calling out Government and corporate to join hands and stand with the promoters of Sting to make this calendar event a really great and sustainable festival,” Laing said of the event.
