Biography of Bounty Killer

By the mid-'90s, much of the guntalk and slackness that characterized dancehall had been toned down (some of it forcibly by Kingston police authorized in 1994 to shut down sound systems continuing to promote guntalk) in favor of more upbeat socially conscious messages, but not for deejay Bounty Killer who continues to unapologetically fires off his white hot while rapid-fire gun rap and stands firm against those critics trying to shoot his music down. Born Rodney Price in Kingston, Bounty Killer began toasting with Trenchtown sound systems at age nine. Price took his original stage name, Bounty Hunter, in the early '90s around the time he recorded his first single at the King Jammy studio where he used to hang out. The single caught fire and soon they called him Bounty Killer. His career has closely paralleled that of his musical nemesis Beenie Man with whom he has had a notorious, well-publicized rivalry. Beenie swears that Bounty Killer has stolen his act, while B.K. asserts that Beenie is the real thief. True, both artists affect an uncannily similar style and choice of music, but whether any of the accusations have any merit remains unclear. Though still best known for songs promoting violence, it would be unfair to judge Bounty Killer solely on those terms, for in performance and even on his records, he demonstrates that he is capable of doing much more and actually sings about a variety of subjects, some of the slack and some earnestly socially conscious. Though not generally known, he is a strong defender of the poor (he himself grew up in poverty in the Seaview Gardens ghetto) and with little fanfare frequently donates large amounts of money to help rapidly decaying schools around Kingston. As a singer, he is noted for his booming voice and extremely energetic performances. He crossed over to hip-hop territory in 1995 with his hit "Cellular Phone." Many of his earlier hits have since been re-mixed to hip-hop rhythms and rereleased. He has truly become one of Jamaica's hottest dancehall artists. In the mid '90s he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the students of the University of the West Indies. In 1996, he founded a production company, Scare Dem Productions, and his own label Pricele$$ Records. The Next Millennium followed in 1998, and a year later Bounty Killer returned with The 5th Element. ~ Sandra Brennan

Biography of No Doubt

With the return of the punks in the mid-'90s came a resurgence of their slightly more commercial rivals, new wave bands. No Doubt found a niche as a new wave/ska band, on the strength of vocalist Gwen Stefani's persona -- alternately an embrace of little-girl-lost innocence and riot grrrl feminism -- exemplified on the band's breakout single, "Just a Girl."Formed in early 1987 as a ska band inspired by Madness, the lineup of No Doubt initially comprised John Spence, Gwen Stefani, and her brother Eric. While playing the party-band circuit around Anaheim, the trio picked up bassist Tony Kanal, born in India but raised in Great Britain and the U.S. Hardened by the suicide of Spence in December 1987, No Doubt nevertheless continued; Gwen became the lone vocalist and the group added guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young.No Doubt's live act began to attract regional interest, and Interscope Records signed them in 1991. The band's debut a year later, an odd fusion of '80s pop and ska, sank without a trace in the wake of the grunge movement. As a result, Interscope refused to support No Doubt's tour or further recordings. The band responded by recording on their own during 1993-1994; the result was the self-released Beacon Street Collection, much rawer and more punk-inspired than the debut. Eric Stefani left just after its release, later working as an animator for The Simpsons.By late 1994, Interscope allowed recordings to resume, and Tragic Kingdom was released in October 1995. The album served as a document of the breakup of Gwen Stefani and Kanal, whose relationship had lasted seven years. Thanks to constant touring and the appearance of "Just a Girl" and "Spiderwebs" on MTV's Buzz Bin, the album hit the Top Ten in 1996. Stefani, who has made no secret of her pop ambitions, became a centerpiece of attention as an alternative to the crop of tough girls prevalent on the charts. By the end of the year, Tragic Kingdom hit number one on the album charts, almost a year after its first release; the record's third single, the ballad "Don't Speak," was the band's biggest hit to date. No Doubt's much-anticipated follow-up, The Return of Saturn, was released in the spring of 2000, and "Simple Kind of Life" and "Ex-Girlfriend" were both critically successful at the mainstream and college levels. A year later, Stefani also hooked up with rap chanteuse Eve for the single "Let Me Blow Your Mind" (it went on to earn a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2002); however, Stefani also joined her band for the release of their fifth album. The ska revival and new wave sounds of Rock Steady were issued hot on the heels of debut single "Hey Baby" in December 2001. ~ John Bush