THE Warlord, Bounty Killer, says that despite rumours that Vybz Kartel is organising to have people present to boo him at Sting, this year he’s “working with the people”.

“Whatever the people want, I will give it to them. I am going to do my set and then ask the people what they want me to do to Kartel. If they say ‘leave him’ I will, but if the people tell me to kill him, I will have no choice,” Bounty told Splash, in reference to Kartel’s lyrical death. “Truth is, I am confused by this peace thing. When peace was really being declared at West Kingston Jamboree, Kartel wouldn’t come on stage until Bounty left the stage. So what is that saying?” quizzed Killer.

Bounty, who was in a rather upbeat mood, described Kartel as “desperate” and pointed out that since he (Bounty) was a dinosaur and a relic, Kartel should not be so focused on him.

“Last year he brought people to Sting to boo Mavado and word on the street is that he is planning to repeat that action this year with regards to me. But I really want to know if that is the dancehall they want to see?” Bounty, whose real name is Rodney Pryce, questioned.

Emphasising that his ideal was not to clash with Vybz Kartel, Bounty said at the end of the day it was a matter of street cred and showing this generation that he is a “far superior clash lyricist” to Vybz Kartel.

“I have been avoiding Kartel like the plague… and the more I ignore his lyrics is the more he builds them. Last year, I said I was dealing with a big man ting and put down the clash vibes and people started saying ‘Bounty is a punk’. I made it known that I was carrying Mavado to Sting to clash with Kartel because the two of them are in the same league.

“I have nothing to gain by killing Kartel, because Kartel is not a bigger artiste than Bounty. And furthermore he is not a gangster, clash artiste like Ninjaman and Cobra. Kartel is more like Beenie.

“Just ask any selector how many times a Bounty Killer song win sound clash and mek man haffi lock off sound. And then ask them if any Kartel song can kill sound,” Killer challenged.

“Even Merciless, the ‘worse-forless’ is more of a clash artiste than Kartel,” Bounty declared, adding that he noticed that Merciless was trying to push himself into the Sting clash.

“But I gave Merciless three strikes and he lost all three. Him go to prison and come back and still don’t understand himself,” Bounty observed.

In closing, he stated that he was going to Sting “prepared for whatever I have to do”.

Sting takes place on Saturday, December 26 at Jamworld in Portmore.

— Yasmine Peru