Is dancehall singjay Blak Ryno bleaching? That’s what many are wondering following a screengrab of the artiste which is making the rounds on social media.

It seems the former Gaza affiliate was on Instagram Live recently flaunting a lighter skin tone. This comestwo weeks after he used the same platform to announce that he’d be premiering a“new image, new style, new everything” in the upcoming weeks.

He had also ended that same Liveby jokingly saying he had to go as he was going to “put on his bleachingcream.”

The artiste has noticeably removed all prior posts from his social media, and only has a promotional post of his upcoming 10-track album, Jaedi Return, on his profile. The album cover features the dark-skinned Ryno folks are accustomed to.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pinkwall jmg (@pinkwalljmg_)

Reactions have been few and mixed to the artiste’s alleged

bleaching, with most having a hard time remembering who he is.

“Him did alive?” one person asked.

“Who name so again?”

“A nuh black Ryno that, a white Ryno.”

“A weh him did deh?”

Few dismissed that he is actually bleaching, which is fair

considering the stunts dancehall acts have employed to attain some relevance in

the space.

The last act to try the bleaching tactic was Spice in 2018, for

the promotion of her single Black

Hypocrisy and Capture EP. Though

she said the stunt served as a way to highlight the colourism that she has

faced, it must be said that these tactics, especially when done on a grand

scale, usually result in excessive media coverage, a boost in social media

following and interest in the artiste’s latest project, all of which were the

result of her stunt.

Ryno could use all of those benefits, as indeed, he is about to

release an upcoming album, but he’s also struggled with being relevant in the

Jamaican space for several years. He also seems to have a “comeback”

or return every year.

Other artistes to have employed stunts and gimmicks include

Alkaline (contact lens), Vybz Kartel (skin bleaching), RT Boss (fake

relationship with Mackerel) and Spice (fake relationship with “pool bae).