VETERAN dancehall artiste Ninjaman lashes ‘scammers’

Ninjaman

VETERAN dancehall artiste Ninjaman has blasted several of the industry’s young turks who have resorted to “gimmicks instead of lyrics” to get noticed.

Ninjaman, whose given name is Desmond Ballentine, was speaking to the Jamaica Observer in an exclusive interview earlier this week.

“There are a lot of scammers in the music business; is not just people who a scam others ah foreign. Is a music scamming a gwaan now, and some a dem would do anything to get famous,” said Ninjaman.

The dancehall veteran said, while some of the new trends were life-threatening, others were mere hoax.

“Alkaline can’t trick me, because I act a lot of movies and contacts are used especially in horror movies to enhance a person’s character. Alkaline would have to tell me how much hours it take and show me the doctor who did the process. The doctor would have to tattoo another eye too. Some ah dem man ya just no wa satisfy with what God give dem, but me waan tell them say, ‘don’t make hype make you do things that is uncalled for. Inna the long run, you ago hurt you own self,'” Ninjaman said, who appeared in the movies Third World Cop (1999) and Rude Boy: The Jamaican Don (2003).

Controversial dancehall act Alkaline is reported to have coloured his sclera black. Singjay Mace is also said to have done a similar procedure.

He also had words for dancehall act Furtyle Brain who had two horns implanted in his head.

“All man with horn in him head; if him fall down… his head in more danger, cuz all it take is a drop or

* sum’n fi him crack him skull,” said Ninjaman.

The Downsound Records-signed artiste had some parting words for up-and-coming acts:

* “Is lyrics must have to be a great artiste. Di thing weh

bring you up inna music is

proper lyrics, proper performance, and good entertainment,” he said.

— Simone Morgan