Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Ninja Man, DJ Spragga Benz and Assassin -

When scanning a 'Most Wanted' list, the faces of the criminals tend to be striking. Very striking - and not in a model or actor way.

And running through the list of 'bad man' deejays who get a strong response from the public, the faces are also very striking, with the exception of Supercat.

The men on the police list, with their scars, unkempt hair and scowls, would make anyone clutch their valuables a bit tighter if there were a chance street encounter. But ironically, it is this same stereotype of how a 'bad man' or gangster should look that has left an indelible impression on fans, and has resulted in the natural or forced persona presented by artistes to meet expectations.

Over the years the perception of Spragga Benz has changed tremendously because of his decision to grow locks, seeing him going from girls magnet to sort-of-a-girls-magnet-but-mostly-representing-for-the-thugs artiste.

"Really, whe you get dem thing yah fi do? A somebody a give yuh dem project yah fi do?" Spragga asked The Sunday Gleaner. "Why? No nobody told me to do It," was the reply.

He says of his current fan base, "It's probably not the same following, but it good same way."

Spragga also said he didn't know if more males or females attended his shows, both for different reasons, of course. "Mi just know say when me perform the venues full," he said.

In a previous interview with Spragga Benz, published in the July 16, 2006 edition of The Sunday Gleaner, he said "Back in the day, people used to get the thing twisted, right. When I would perform, the clothes would stick to me because of the sweat; me sweat hard so me tek it off. But when me see the reactions me start mek a conscious effort not to take it off. Now me haffi deh suffer in the wet clothes."

Superficial

Spragga now says "The problem is that some people superficial and them nuh want fi take the whole package."

Shaunasays she is a huge fan of Assassin because of how well he carries himself and she believes his lyrics "to some extent".

"I say to 'some extent' because Assassin sings gangster songs and is basically the same thing as Vybz Kartel. He (Kartel) cut his hair, but that didn't make much a difference because of the type of lyrics that he does where he disrespects women," she said.

The Sunday Gleaner asked "But if you saw a 'ramba chamba' man with lots of cuts walk on stage and one who is dressed decently, who would you believe was the true gangster?"

And Shauna said "The 'ramba chamba' one, because it would seem like he knew more about that lifestyle than the other one."

It is obvious that Assassin is a 'looker', but he says it is his music that attracts a wide cross-section of people. "I definitely attract young people, but over the past year and a half I have been attracting more in the corporate world. They are appreciating what we have to offer. The other day I went on tour with Buju and there were people in Colorado who were coming up to me and saying that they like my music. So I really don't have a target audience, because to do that is to place limitations on yourself," he said.

He also says he doesn't know if the majority of his fans are females. "In my view I try to do music for a wide cross-section of people, so they can relate ... I do music, that's what I'm about, but at the same time, nobody can't have me as no punk," Assassin said.

"Do you think if you were ugly you would get more gangster props?" The Sunday Gleaner asks.

"People base dem ting off your background. People know that I am from Kintyre and after that me did start hang out wid Red Square. So people form dem perception from dem thing deh," Assassin replied

"... From what I've seen people don't go off looks. It's basically how you say what you're saying; from there people will look and see who knows what, or if you're just saying something that you saw from a movie or it's something real them actually talking about," he said.

No pretty boy

The gold teeth, front teeth, Don Gorgon Ninja Man spoke from experience.

"If you have a bad man image den you must know say the people dem nuh wah see no pretty boy. If yuh a go deejay 'bout one ounce a gun then people naw expect fi see nobody who look like dem a go deejay bout one world a Bible fi walk out pon stage," he said.

But how should such a person look - scars, bullet wounds?

According to Ninjaman, "No. Bad man nuh haffi have no whole heap a cut. A real bad man is a man wha deal wid humble things. If something a happen inna a community and some man feel say dem want start something, then dem man deh a somebody who can keep di peace. Dem man deh who go round and mek up some whole heap of noise a chucky-boo, big idiot."

"But why didn't you go with the 'pretty boy' image to boost your career?" The Sunday Gleaner asks.

"Because to be a rude bwoy you get more competition and it's the more people will want to know who you is. Is more mystery. Usually when women have a portrait of Ninja Man, is not really how me look but how me carry miself, so dem want to know more. Dem will say to themself, 'I wonder what Ninja is like?' 'A so him screw up him face all the time?' Nuff people nuh know say there is another side to Ninja ... mi nuh live my life like when me deh pon stage. When me at home is a family thing me deal wid and people nuh know dat stage different from home. Dat is just for the fans," he said.

Taken from The Sunday Gleaner, November 5, 2006