Ninjaman has released a fourth letter through Empress Mesha as he responds to critics who say that he is not intelligent, and he also calls out Queen Ifrica for her diatribe against Minister Marion Hall while offering his thoughts on the current state of music.
In the letter shared on Tuesday, the artist says intelligence is “not proven until it is absolutely necessary, education never rears its head until it’s inexorable and wisdom is not observed until it is observed,” as he addresses critics that bashed him about his previous letters.
The artiste also called out Queen Ifrica for her treatment of Marion Hall, who is booked to perform at Reggae Sumfest.
“Queen, I have always had respect for you because of the way you presented yourself to us in the industry and to the world at large. You stood for truth and rights and carried yourself in such a way that we had no choice but to applaud your existence,” Ninjaman began.
“But lately, you have been operating outside of that realm, Queen please remember what Rastafari means, it’s a religious movement among black people that teaches eventual redemption among black people and their return to their African roots. Rastafarian has distinctive codes of behavior and dress,” he said, adding that Queen Ifrica was known for her positive words of upliftment and strength, but her behavior is not reflecting that.
“You are out in the public addressing people using words that are unbecoming for you,” he said.
Ninjaman, 56, is presently serving 25 years to life sentence for the murder of Ricardo Johnson. The artiste added that he has “nothing but time” and he will keep Queen Ifrica and others in his prayers.
Ninjaman also shared support for Lady Saw, now goes by Minister Marion Hall
“Do not let anyone stop you from doing what you do. I am sure that you did not tell anyone that you are going to that space as Lady Saw. Everyone saw you on an entirely different mission than Lady Saw was on,” he said, adding that God was taking her to the strip club and other places to save souls for God, even if it was one or two, and there was nothing wrong with that, “[as] long as you shake your booty in the name of Jesus.”
He added that back in the day, artistes like Lieutenant Stichie and Papa San never received the same criticism and that Saw should not be deterred.
“Remake all the songs you did as Lady Saw into gospel and burn down Sumfest,” Ninjaman says.
The dancehall legend added, “please separate yourself from the constant quarreling that has become the norm for too many females in Dancehall,” adding that bickering artists needed to head to the studio and stop quareling on social media.”
Ninjaman also gave a scathing assessment of the state of the music industry right now and added that the bar is now “below the snake’s belly” as he reflected on how veteran artists treated younger ones- rivalry was reserved for the stage, but everything else was taken to the studio back in the day.
“We need to make the industry stronger, not weaken it, all the other genres have gone past us. Producers should stick to making reggae and dancehall music. There are too many crossover riddims being made and they are not being made well enough to compete against the people who are making them authentically, they are not made to last,” he said.
Although he is in jail, the artiste warned that embracing Artificial Intelligence and computers might do more harm than good.
“Too many computer-generated beats are being made, we need to use real musicians playing real instruments so we can recapture the essence of what dancehall and reggae music is,” he said, adding that “diversion is destroying the industry.”
