Gospel deejay Mr Gallimore is taking aim at reggae artiste Yaksta, accusing the Rastafarian firebrand of disrespecting Christianity and sowing spiritual doubt among young Jamaicans with lyrics that boldly declare: “Jesus nah come save we”.
Mr Gallimore has jumped on dancehall’s hottest instrumental, the ‘Hill and Gully Ride’ rhythm, with a controversial, hard-hitting song, What A Hell. The Trench Town-raised gospel minister says Yaksta’s rhetoric may make for provocative music, but when it takes aim at Jesus Christ, he believes a line has been crossed.
“Jamaica is known to be a Christian country with the most churches per square mile, and the foundation is built on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So to hear a Rastaman like Yaksta make those blasphemous words, it makes it challenging for us as Christians to mentor young men and tell them about Jesus Christ and spread the gospel to the four corners of the Earth,” Mr Gallimore said.
This isn’t the artiste’s first problem with Yaksta. The reggae artiste previously raised eyebrows with the line “pastor fi go look a work”, another lyrical jab that Mr Gallimore believes Christians largely allowed to pass without sufficient pushback.
“Christians have not been vocal about him, and I am tired of his direct challenge to God. We are warriors for Christ,” Mr Gallimore declared.
THE STAR reached out to Yaksta for a comment, however, he said he didn’t even know who Mr Gallimore was and had also never heard of the song. Yaksta, known as the Bush Lawd, said plainly that he was “not interested in warring with nuh gospel artiste” but he reiterated that “pastor fi guh look work”.
“God nuh have nuh Zelle,” he said lightly, referring to the digital payment service.
Mr Gallimore opined that lyrics questioning the relevance of Jesus can carry consequences far beyond a three-minute song, particularly when delivered to young listeners already wrestling with religion, identity and the pressures of Jamaican society.
“He is putting doubt in the minds of young men that Jesus Christ has no significance to them, so that cannot sit well with me as a child of God,” he said. “We as Christians have to cancel every negative word and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.”
Mr Gallimore reached for scripture to frame the confrontation, invoking the biblical declaration that Christians “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities” and the rulers of darkness. He says Yaksta is making the work of Christian evangelists “10 times harder” by challenging the very message evangelists are attempting to carry to Jamaica’s young men.
What A Hell is a brash, uncompromising take on Jamaican society’s slow slide into moral ambivalence and sin.
Mr Gallimore deejays: “What A Hell if you nuh mek it when father God come/ man a guh run to the rock the rock it shall run/ Hell if you nuh make it on that judgement day/According to your works a so you ago get your pay.”
He has made a music video which depicts an AI version of Yaksta burning in the fiery pits of hell.
“This is a warning,” Mr Gallimore said, attempting to downplay the striking visuals. “I am not sending anyone to hell, it’s just a warning.” The video has racked up 28,000 views in the two weeks since its release.
