Bounty Killer and Cham are currently in the U.K., promoting their debut EP “Time Bomb.” The Killer reflected on his illustrious career, which includes Billboard charting collaborations and the creation of the Grammy-winning single “Hey Baby” with No Doubt.
Bounty did not hold back as he painted a vivid picture, highlighting every step of the journey working with No Doubt. This journey included the making of the song, filming the music video, promoting and performing the song, and the tumultuous and costly journey to retain his rights to the song.
The 51-year-old deejay recalled how the song came to be during a sit-down interview with the BBC’s Seani B. He said, “It was Sly and Robbie who called me about this collaboration. I never know much about No Doubt; I had seen the name but I never really know the impact they had on the rock and roll scene. It was Sly and Robbie they came to Jamaica and they suggest they wanna work with me, and Sly and Robbie called me. And I tell them I want $10,000, them a seh a $2000 they have , and me seh, ‘f*ck off. 10 can’t become 2. 10 shoulda move to 8 or 9 or 7.'”
However, it was Sly and Robbie who eventually convinced Bounty to shift his focus from the upfront payment amount to the long-lasting legacy of the collaboration. “Then Sly and Robbie say, well ‘Killa, we understand, but you see more time it’s not even for the money; it’s for the legacy.’ They told me that back in the day, they often didn’t receive upfront payments, but the work they put in created a lasting legacy and bore fruit. They took me a good likkle schooling, and when I looked back at their history and catalog, I realized the impact they had made.”
When asked if he eventually accepted the $2000, he replied, “Me nuh do ‘two,’ so I did it for free. Keep the f*cking fee, and I did it for free and they tried to f*ck with the publishing.”
“That’s why I took them to court,” he said. “People think it was because of the naked man in the video, but a nuh that mash up me and dem; that caused a rift, but..(they) tried to take the publishing. They wanna give me 2.5% when I get 12.5%. I had to take them to court in California, $25,000 retainer fee, and we nuh go a court yet(before going to court). Most people don’t even know that this is what caused the rift, not the video” Bounty explained.
Nonetheless, he emphasized that the song which is now certified Gold in the US by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for selling 500,000 units now belongs to his catalog, even though they attempted to cheat him out of his future earnings.
He said, “It’s an achievement, but I earned it. It’s my song. They couldn’t carry anyone else sing it. They didn’t really do anything for me; a free me go pin the song, thank God them do back sumn, because they never paid me. They are a good group, a great group, and we had a good relationship until they tried to take the publishing.”
As for the controversial music video that featured a nude band member, drummer Adrian Young, Bounty Killer mentioned that they disregarded his request to remove the nude scenes. “I told them to take the naked boy from the video, but they make him stay in deh.”
Young’s scene was inspired by a real-life incident in which he accepted a dare to hang upside down and undressed on the rings at a New York City club, earning $200. In the video, this scene coincided with Bounty singing, “The way you rock your hips, you know that it amazes me.”
Bounty Killer expressed his desire to harm the group after seeing the final version of the video. “Likkle most me nuh go to the Super Bowl; Julian convinced me, a k*ll me wah kill the group because I told them we were singing about ‘Hey Baby,’ so how naked boy in it? That nuh right, and if that part had been in the video, a war would have erupted immediately.”
The music video was directed by film director Dave Myers, and Bounty recalled the substantial budget behind the production, which included his first-class flight from Jamaica to Los Angeles for the video shoot.
“Big Dave Myers, a US$500,000 fo dah video deh and them put naked boy and spoiled it. It wasn’t a cheap video; I flew first class from Jamaica to LA for the video shoot,” he said.
The “Hey Baby” music video premiered on MTV on November 6, 2001, entering the Total Request Live charts at No. 10, eventually reaching the third position. It also claimed the number one spot on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown for three consecutive weeks. In 2002, the video received accolades at the MTV Video Music Awards, winning in the categories of Best Pop Video and Best Group Video. It also earned a nomination for Best International Group Video at the 2002 MuchMusic Video Awards.
Despite these successes, Bounty Killer did not fully share in them due to issues with publishing and the inclusion of the nude scenes, which hurt his feelings and made him reluctant to perform the song. At the time, he canceled several appearances and was even hesitant about participating in the Super Bowl, although he was convinced by his manager.
“Julian convinced me to go because I didn’t know much about the Super Bowl. I just knew that I wasn’t happy with what was happening, and I was done with them. It was a good decision to go, but at the time, I didn’t care about anything due to the hurt feelings,” he recalled.
He performed at the 2002 Super Bowl and even danced with Gwen on stage while the band members danced in the background (fully clothed).
“Likkle most me miss being on ‘Top of the Pops,’ referring to his appearance on the British Television music chart program. “I missed the American Music Award and the MTV (Music Awards) because I wasn’t interested. I didn’t care about anything more,” he proudly proclaimed.
Bounty had previously referred to “Hey Baby” as his only international hit in a now deleted instagram post earlier this year when Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl with the caption:
“Two decades later whose ready for the Super Bowl tmrw🏈💫💯🍾🥂💥🏈,” he captioned the Instagram post.
“Still the biggest from Jamaica in the last 20yrs. Sean is the most successful artiste here since then and non of his singles is successful as that song by winning a Grammy it’s my only billboard top ten hit give thanks to Sly Dunbar and RIP Robbie Shakespeare they made it happened💫💯🥳,” he added later after a fan described the song, which was produced in Jamaica by Sly and Robbie, in Jamaica, as the “biggest and baddest hit since slice bread”.
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal during Bounty’s absence at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. He explained that it was because he “insisted on having my mother present” at the awards show.
The reggae rocksteady groove found further success as it made its mark in the Top 40 Mainstream, ultimately reaching the top ten on the Top 40 Tracks and Adult Top 40 charts. The song achieved substantial crossover success, ascending to number five on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart.
This success extended across the Atlantic to Europe, where “Hey Baby” reached No. 5 on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It also achieved top 10 rankings in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, and Norway, and landed within the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
In Australia, “Hey Baby” entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 28 and climbed to its peak position at number seven four weeks later. It notably secured the 37th position on the year-end chart for 2002. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song reached number two, briefly trailing behind Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever” for two non-consecutive weeks.
In 2021 interview on DJ Khaled’s First One Podcast, Gwen Stefani recounted her introduction to reggae music, dating back to the previous year. She revealed that her journey into the reggae genre commenced when she discovered UB40 at the age of 17, prompting both her and her siblings to establish a Ska band during their school years. Since then, her career has been significantly shaped by her deep connection with reggae music, artists, and the vibrant culture it represents. Recalling her musical experiences, she shared, “We had the privilege of collaborating with renowned figures like Sly and Robbie, Steelie, Cleevie for ‘Underneath It All,’ and ‘Hey Baby.’ During our time in Jamaica, where we stayed at the iconic Golden Eye, we patiently awaited collaboration opportunities for two days, which turned out to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We had the pleasure of working with artists such as Lady Saw and Bounty Killer on those records.”
