Desmond John Ballentine (born January 24, 1966), better known as Ninjaman, and sometimes as Don Gorgon is a Jamaican
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...
deejay
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...
and
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
, known for his controversial and pro-gun lyrics and his stuttering and melodramatic style.
In 2017, he received a life sentence for murder.
Biography
Born in
Annotto Bay
Annotto Bay is a town in the parish of Saint Mary in Jamaica. It was once an active port on the north side. This town was previously named ‘Guayguata’ by the Tainos, it is named from the abundance of the Annatto trees in the area. The Spanis ...
, Jamaica, Ballentine moved to
Kingston at the age of 12. He launched his deejay career with the Black Culture Sound System at age 14 as "Double Ugly". In 1980, he joined the
Killamanjaro
Founded in the summer of 1969, Killamanjaro is a Jamaican sound system best known for their clashes and large amount of classic reggae dubplates.
It is owned by Noel "Papa Jaro" Harper and named after Mount Kilimanjaro. The name was change ...
sound system, where he got the chance to learn from established deejays
Super Cat
William Anthony Maragh (born 25 June 1963),Huey, Steve " Super Cat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 18 July 2010 also known as Super Cat, is a Jamaican deejay who achieved widespread popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall mo ...
and
Early B
Earlando Arrington Neil, better known by his stage name Early B, was an early dancehall and reggae deejay whose lyrics had a cultural bent, noted mainly in his hits ''Visit of King Selassie'', ''History of Jamaica'' and ''Wheely Wheely'', the ...
, and released his debut single as "Uglyman". Yet another name change made him the now, well-known Ninjaman.
In 1987, Ninjaman recorded - and produced himself - his first hit single "Protection", a duet with Courtney Melody. The following years brought many prolific collaborations with producers like
King Jammy, Lloyd "Pickout" Dennis, Witty,
Xterminator,
Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Redman,
Ini Kamoze,
Bobby Digital,
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke (born 1954) is a reggae producer who worked with some of the top Jamaican reggae artists in the 1970s and later set up his own Music Works studio.
Career
Clarke started working in the music industry by cutting dub pl ...
, and
Steely & Clevie
Steely & Clevie was a Jamaican dancehall reggae production duo that was composed of members Wycliffe Johnson and Cleveland Browne. The duo worked with artists such as the Specials, Gregory Peck ("Poco Man Jam," 1990), Bounty Killer, Elephant Ma ...
and
Henry "Junjo" Lawes
Henry "Junjo" Lawes (1960 in Kingston, Jamaica – 13 June 1999 in London, England) was a highly influential Jamaican record producer and a sound engineer.
Biography
Born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica, Lawes began working ...
. It has been said that Ninjaman comes up with all of his lyrics on the spot in the recording studio, in a freestyle manner.
His hits over the years 1989-1992, like "Border Clash," "Murder Dem", "Permit to Bury" and "Above the Law" reinforced Ninjaman's image of a violent
rude boy
Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...
. One of his most infamous rivalries (besides the ongoing quarrels with
Flourgon
Michael May (born c.1970), better known as Flourgon, is a Jamaican dancehall artist.
Biography
May got his nickname of 'Flourgon', which became his stage name, due to his love of dumplings.Henry, Krista (2008)Glory days - Flourgon 'Run Tings' i ...
and Super Cat) was the one with
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...
, leading to a number of
clashes.
In 1993, criticism of Ninjaman's violent and pro-gun lyrics arose, leading to a decline in performing gigs and chances to record.
By 1997, Ninjaman had changed his name once again, now performing
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
reggae songs as "Brother Desmond". He sought help to fight his
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
addiction in
born again Christianity
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...
.
In 1999, he was cast in
Third World Cop
''Third World Cop'' is a 1999 Jamaican action crime film directed by Chris Browne and starring Paul Campbell. It was produced by Chris Blackwell of Island Jamaica Films. It became the highest-grossing Jamaican film.
Plot
After his partner is g ...
, a Jamaican
action crime film directed by Chris Browne and starring
Paul Campbell. It was produced by
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...
of
Island Jamaica Films. It became the highest-grossing Jamaican film.
Other Movies he was cast in include ''Rude Boy: The Jamaican Don (2003)'' and ''Gangsta's Paradise (2004)''
In March 2009, Ninjaman, along with his son Janiel, was arrested and charged in connection with a murder of Ricardo Johnson on Marl Road, Kingston, Jamaica.
He was granted bail for the sum of JD$2,000,000 in March 2012, and was scheduled to appear in court 15 July 2012. At least 58 jurors were needed for the start of the trial but only 15 showed up. The trial was rescheduled to start in April 2015, but was again postponed and rescheduled to start in January 2016.
In 2015 he parted ways with Downsound Records and opened his own Picture Frame Studio on Blackwood Terrace in Kingston.
On November 20, 2017, Ninjaman and his co-accused were found guilty of the 2009 murder of Ricardo Johnson. On December 18, 2017, Ballentine was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Discography
*Number One
*Glad Me Release (1986)
*Send Threat To Me (1988)
*Slackness Done (1988)
*Stumbling Block/Sixteen (1988)
*Superstar (1988)
*Big Showdown (1990)
*Border Clash (1990)
*Kill Them And Done (1990)
*Murder Dem (1990)
*My Weapon (1990)
*Out Pon Bail (1990)
*The Last Of Flourgan (1990)
*Warning You Now (1990)
*Zig It Up (1990)
*Bring Them All To Jesus (1991)
*Bunty Hunter (1991)
*Dirt Heart (1991)
*Excuse Me (1991)
*From Mi Hold Him (1991)
*Gunman (1991)
*John Law (1991)
*Mandela Come (1991)
*Permit To Bury (1991)
*Step Aside (1991)
*Sunsplash (Don Gorgon) (1991)
*Target Practice (1991)
*Ting A Ling A Ling A School Pickney Sing Ting (1992)
*Hardcore Killing (1993)
*Original Front Tooth Gold Tooth Gun Pon Tooth Don Gorgon! (1993)
*Run come test (1993)
*Artical Don (1994)
*Booyakka Booyakka (1994)
*Hollow Point Bad Boy... (1994)
*Jungle Move (Remarc Remix) (1995)
*Ninja Man Mega Mix (2000)
*Anything Test Dead (2001)
*When It Done/Mad Again (2004)
*Money (Feat. Ninjaman) (2017) (collaboration with
Collapsing Scenery)
*Badness (Prod by Monkey Marc)(Digikillaz)(2019)
References
External links
DaintyCrew.com interviewDiscogs entry
{{Authority control
1966 births
Jamaican dancehall musicians
Jamaican reggae musicians
Living people
People from Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica
Jamaican people convicted of murder
VP Records artists