Legendary dancehall artiste Rodney “Bounty Killer” Price was left revelling in the recognitions he received for his contribution to music in Jamaica at the Reggae Gold Awards, held at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday, February 29.

Price has been a part of the music industry as a deejay since the early 1990s and dubbed himself the “poor people governor” because of his devotion to highlighting social messages in his music.

Among his two awards, Price was left in awe after receiving the Wray & Nephew Cultural Impact Award, presented by J. Wray & Nephew Ltd. media & PR manager, Candiese Leveridge.

“It’s very auspicious to know that the iconic Wray & Nephew, that I have known since I was a young man because Wray & Nephew is like the python of alcoholic beverage in Jamaica, they are the spirit of Jamaica. So, for them to recognise me and the iconic figure that I am, it is something very interesting and I appreciate it and I am elated about it,” he said.

“What can I say? This is from your hometown, and they always say a king never gets crowned in his town. So, when you are recognised by your peers and your people that’s the most awesome feeling. So, I am appreciative of this gesture that Wray & Nephew made to really recognise my iconic presence and status, so I am grateful, and I am thankful, and I give a lot of thanks,” he continued.

Price was also inducted into the Jamaica Music Museum Hall of Fame on the night, and he was grateful to be recognised among several Jamaican greats who have elevated the music to its current global status.

“The induction into Jamaica Reggae Music Hall of Fame, that’s another iconic achievement because to be recognised amongst all those greats, the great Bob Marley, the great Leroy Sibbles, the great Ken Boothe, Yellow Man, Jose Wales, all those people that I grew up listening to, to be recognised among them, that is like the legacy, you can’t get any better than that,” he added.

“Yellow Man is the king deejay, and they are inducting you in the same Hall of Fame with him, that means I’m a scholar, and I have graduated with high honour. So, it’s an awesome feeling, it’s a great night and we give thanks to the Minister and the organisation and the sponsors Wray & Nephew for recognising the players of Reggae,” he beamed.

Price also hailed Entertainment Minister Olivia Grange for recognising Jamaican music the way she has done.

“This never happened, ten, twenty, years ago, so it’s good to keep the legacy and the history of reggae going. They have started the Reggae Music Hall of Fame which is a great induction again because we never had that years ago. Cudos to Babsy and the entire ministry supporting reggae and dancehall,” he said.

On a night when many Jamaican musicians were honoured and the crowd treated to some very special performances, it was the Third World Band that stole the show. Led by AJ Brown, the band treated the crowd to 39 minutes of musical bliss.

Opening with Dreamland and then unto Reggae Ambassador, they set the stage for a superb performance.

Fans were up on their feet and dancing during the entire set as they sang along to other hits such as Now That We Found Love, 96 Degrees in the Shade and Try Jah Love.

Stephen “Cat” Coore gave a stellar solo guitar rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song and AJ Brown wowed the audience with his performance of  Luciano Pavarotti’s Time to Say Goodbye in Italian to cap what felt like one of the best local music performances of the year.

Among the other 32 awardees of the night were Third World, Moses “Beenie Man” Davis, Gerald “Bogle” Levy for dance and Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson and Cleveland “Clevie” Browne.