Moses ‘Beenie Man’ Davis and Rodney ‘Bounty Killer’ Price are among four veteran Dancehallers who are set to be inducted into the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer.
Glendon Orville ‘Admiral Bailey’ Bailey and Nadine Sutherland are the two other dancehall-related honorees. Several other persons who are involved in film, culture, music and arts will also receive an OD.
Both Beenie Man and Bounty Killer are to be special awardees, for their contribution to the development of Jamaican music, in particular Dancehall.
The presentations will be done in October on National Heroes Day. As reported by the Jamaica Gleaner, 150 Jamaicans will receive national awards as Jamaica celebrates its 62nd anniversary of Independence.
This announcement comes on the heels of Beenie Man, months ago, in May of 2024, calling for a national honour for the work he has put in over the years, noting that several other artistes who have been awarded in the past have not done as much as he has done for music locally.
However, Beenie Man wanted the 5ft highest-ranked honour, according to the deejay in the interview with Dutty Berry, the only national award befitting his contribution is the Order of Jamaica (OJ).
“Mi need mi OJ, Order of Jamaica [ … ] nothing less [ … ] I’m the king of di Dancehall mi nuh need nuh more Order of Distinction. I am already the Order of Distinction,” Beenie stated. The artiste went on to request the award from the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange.
“Yow hear mi nuh Babsy, mi still deh yah eno a wait pan di singting yuh zeet. caw a mi mumma still eno. a mi boss, a mi don, a she control music and entertainment. Suh yah fi always respect a person like dat,” Beenie said.
Beenie added that he wanted the OJ so he could receive a diplomatic passport and bypass the embassy.
Bounty Killer was also previously disgruntled about not being honoured, last year in October, he stated, “What’s a OD to a OG/One General that’s meeeee😂😅😄.”
Notably, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Wayne Marshall and Shabba Ranks, have been recognised for their contribution to Jamaican music with an Order of Distinction (OD).
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