Out on Independence Day, August 6, award-winning Jamaican actor and dub poet Sheldon Shepherd has a new single Bad Boy Ratty.

Taken from his first solo album, Give Thanks, which is distributed by Tuff Gong International and drops September 18, the single channels the spirit of legendary outlaw and folk hero Rhyging. Bad Boy Ratty questions the idea of war and a society that still thinks it’s necessary. Daring to make the bold and poetic statement that “Bad Boy and police is the same thing,” Shepherd juxtaposes the so-called criminal with the so-called lawman, making the distinction that corruption is the defining factor in both, pointing out that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and “one woman’s bad boy is another woman’s lover”.

Bolstering the single’s message is the cover art which depicts Shepherd in the iconic silhouette of Jimmy Cliff, in the Jamaican cult classic film Harder They Come, who played the loveable bad boy Rhyging, often regarded as the original rude boy.

The founding member of poetry band The NoMaddz, his most recent screen work is a leading role for the
Sky UK TV series Possession, which also premiered on August 6.

His roles in Storm Saulter’s Better Mus’ Come — for which he won Best Actor at the American Black Film Festival in 2012 — and as Neville Garrick in the recent Bob Marley biopic stand to his credit.

Bad Boy Ratty continues to showcase Shepherd’s versatility ahead of his long awaited album.