‘Bob Marley: One Love’ actor Ras Ajai shot dead in Waterford
ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — A 47-year-old reggae artiste and actor, identified as Brian Boucher, popularly known as Ras Ajai, was shot and killed by armed assailants in Waterford, Portmore, St. Catherine, on Saturday night.
Boucher was also known for portraying Claudie Massop in the ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ film.
Preliminary reports indicate that about 9:00 pm, Boucher was sitting on a section of Kendal Road in an area of Waterford known as ‘Third World’ when he was approached by armed men who opened fire, hitting him multiple times before fleeing the scene. Another man was shot and injured in the incident.
“Ras Ajai did just fly in from foreign and say him ah go link him daughter, and him stop at a bench outta Third World and ah siddown ah talk to the warrior dem and ah show them some videos inna him phone. Then gunshot start fire, ah so Ras Ajai pick up one inna him head, the little boy who was there run off and never get shot, and another warrior get shot inna him hip and him foot did a dangle. Six shot fire, and Ras Ajai dead first, one side of him head mash out, jah jah and the other warrior pick up some. Ras Ajai no deserve that,” one source said.
Boucher recently completed a 20-day tour of the United States with Sean Paul, as he had been a member of the Dutty Rock camp for over six years.
Born Brian Todd Boucher, the Waterford-reared artiste has been recording music since 2008. His previous songs include Di Ras Hot, Vice Grip, and Buss A Bubble with Sean Paul.
Ajai who was adopted by a pastor first got involved with music while attending church.
Ras Ajai reportedly enjoyed playing Massop, whpwas the west Kingston enforcer who was a close friend of the reggae legend, Bob Marley. Massop was controversially killed by police in Kingston in 1979.
He had no professional acting experience going into production, and initially auditioned for the role of Alvin “Seeco” Patterson, the percussionist who was a member of Marley’s band.
