TICK TICK TICK BOOM! It had been a long 15 years of the clock ticking since Bounty Killer last touched down on UK soil and when he landed it was definitely with a loud BOOM! 

It was early October when he leaked online he had regained his UK visa, and this created a whirlwind of speculation over whether the General is coming to the UK do a show. 

Was the visa being granted perfect timing or planned as he and his long-time collaborator Baby Cham had just released their brand new Time Bomb EP produced by the legendary hitmaker Dave Kelly? 

This trio has been leaving their mark on dancehall since the mid 1990s with a string of hit songs and riddims. 

Showtime, Joyride and the Bruk Out riddim are just a few of the masterpieces that have been a staple part of dancehall history. But it was the 1999 Bug Riddim and the collaboration between the two for Another Level that was the inception for the  EP and this legendary UK Promo Tour. 

Yep! Promo Tour! 

Who does that in 2024? Who comes to the UK not to make a bag of money and go home paid up? Not Rodney Price. He made it very clear to me that this was about the EP and not any shows or dubplates for that matter. 

Baby Cham and Bounty Killer left no stone unturned to reinforce the message of their Time Bomb EP. 

If you’re a fan of dancehall it’s pretty impossible to mistake the sonic wizardry of Kelly and this project embodies all of what we loved, but with a modern twist. 

Time Bomb is a perfect mix of “authentic” dancehall, but with elements of how the “Yutes” are expressing themselves with “Trap” interpretation into Jamaican music. 

On first listen you would think this is so simple. But to create simplicity and leave so much room for the artists to express themselves is not the easiest thing to do. 

For me this is the signature sound of Dave, Rodney and Damian. For the project the three escaped to a secluded location in the Bahamas for a month to zone in and focus to record with no distractions. 

The entire process was documented for a YouTube film My Brother’s Keeper showing the behindthe-scenes process of what this trio go through to make the hits they have been serving up of the years. 

The fly-on-the-wall documentary set the standard of what to expect when it comes to the attitude of promoting their music. 

The hunger Cham and Killer displayed was as if they both did not have a catalogue and careers to match. They spoke to all the usual tastemakers on BBC 1Xtra, Capital Xtra and Kiss, but also dug deeper and took it to the streets like back in the day. 

In this new era of social media, many standards that were a given have been left behind. If your numbers or platform don’t have weight then it’s hard to get a look in to get a interview. I remember a time when an artist would be in the UK and they would be on every pirate radio station and maybe even turning up at your local Caribbean takeaway, too. 

The desire to be among the people in the community has been taken over by having to be associated with the biggest platforms and brands. What I witnessed on this promo tour was the complete opposite, the duo wanted to be among the real people. 

After they announced their arrival on my weekly 1Xtra radio show, they left central London and ended up in a round robin on Wembley High Road. The next day social media was on fire with footage of the two in the streets taking pictures with all. 

The Time Bomb takeover was not exclusive to just London, as Birmingham, Liverpool and other smaller cities felt their presence. To my surprise the poor people governor informed me that this was his first time in Manchester aka Galchester when he was hosted by my up north colleague Dr C for an interview in his front room! 

Nothing was too big or too small for the pair as they honoured interviews on their two week tour. I love the fact that egos were in check as they knew that a concerted effort has to made by all who is involved in Caribbean music. 

The truth is our music streaming numbers are not as powerful as the influence. Rather than complain and judge others they have led and shown an example of how it can be approached. 

Did it work? Yes, the Ghetto Story singer told me. 

“We were on the top of the charts while in the streets promoting.” While the world is getting more used to working remotely, Bounty Killer left me with some choice words about why he thinks radio and being in people’s faces is still so important to him in true rhyming style… 

“The internet, is not as intimate.”

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