Real badman ting. The dancehall arena is a harsh place, and the stakes are high. Some artists can make great records. And some can stand up in the arena and kill. Some can do both. There’s been a big resurgence in interest in Ninjaman lately, with a lot of LDN artists bigging him up and shouting him out. As Skepta, who’s Nigerian, said: “I think a lot of my caribbean friends didn’t want me to know about Ninjaman.”

Not gonna do a lot of long talking, for those who don’t understand patois just watch who gets a forward and during who’s song the bottles start flying. Peep Ninja throwing Supercats style back in his face at 1:20. Big clash.

NINJAMAN VS. SUPERCAT AT STING 1991:

And Ninja was still a threat twelve years later in 2003, to such an extent that one of dancehall’s contemporary warlords felt the need to go beyond lyrics to lock off what he clearly saw as a serious lyrical threat to his then-new status.

NINJAMAN VS VYBZ KARTEL AT STING 2003:

To my mind as soon as someone has to pick up a bottle in a lyrical war, they’ve lost the clash.

Finally, Ninja discusses the contemporary dancehall scene, and says some very pointed things. He’s cut his dreads, and looks like he’s been through a lot, and has a lot to say.