A month ahead of National Heritage Week, Bounty Killer has declared folk icon Louise Bennett, National Hero Nanny of the Maroons, singer/actress Grace Jones and sprint legend Merlene Ottey his greatest Jamaican women of all time.
According to the Warlord, the late Louise Bennett was especially special to him as he saw her as the mother of Patois, the Jamaican vernacular which also happens to be the language of Dancehall.
“Nanny/Grace Jones/Miss Lou/Merlene Ottley Jamaica’s greatest female figures in my history books 📚,” he noted, later replying “fact of fact”, to a fan who had noted that: Louise Bennett’s “works has led to what the world has come to recognize as Dancehall music”.
In the same breath, Bounty also took the opportunity to throw verbal daggers at his musical tormentor, Ishawna.
“Big up the mother of our language and cultural I remembered that same little batter ears mattress had dissed Miss Lou and our word renowned bandanna also looking hype true Jamaican heritage salute Jamaica…,” he also noted in the Instagram post, referencing an incident dating back to 2017, when Ishawna, after posting a semi-nude photo of herself, trashed bandana, the national fabric, by declaring it a tablecloth, while making a demeaning reference to the Louise Bennett Coverley.
As a consequence, Ishawna had come under national fire with several celebrities and politicians speaking out about her conduct, among them media personalities Khadine “Miss Kitty” Hylton, Fae Ellington and Miss World 1993 Lisa Hanna, herself a former Minister of Culture.
As for Bounty’s other G.O.A.Ts, Grace Jones, is a native of Spanish Town, St Catherine. She recorded several Reggae songs, among them Pull up to the Bumper, in 1981, which was covered by Patra years later and My Jamaican Guy in 1982. My Jamaican Guy which is written in Patois and English, was penned by Jones and was the third single on her 1982 album, Living My Life.
In 2018, the Jamaican Government presented Grace with Jamaica’s fifth-highest honour, for her exceptional contribution to the field of entertainment internationally. At the time, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness had described Jones as “always a strong advocate for Jamaica”.
Holness had noted that not only was she befitting of the award due to her own work as an actress and international icon, but also because she had never forgotten her Jamaican roots ahad embellished her international profile using Jamaica, and made an indelible contribution to Brand Jamaica.
Jones is also known for her work with luxury fashion houses such as Yves St Laurent and Kenzo and for appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She starred in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill as the assassin May Day in 1985, and also appeared alongside Eddie Murphy in Boomerang.
Bounty’s track great, Merlene Ottey represented Jamaica from 1978 to 2000 before switching to Slovenia. She holds the Order of Jamaica, the nation’s fifth-highest award, after previously been conferred with the Order of Distinction.
Merlene who hails from Pondside in Hanover, has the distinction of being the oldest world athletics track medalist ever, anchoring Jamaica’s 400m team to Olympic silver in 2000. She is one of the most decorated women in Olympics or World Championships track and field, with nine and 14 medals respectively among her 35 major championship medals.
Merlene won back-to-back 200m titles in Stuttgart 1993 and Gothenburg 1995. She was named Jamaican Sportswoman of the year 13 times between 1979 and 1995.