The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s use of excerpts from Brysco’s raunchy Gimmi Nikki and Super Cat’s Ghetto Red Hot in their Wanted Wednesdays campaign on Instagram, urging two of Jamaica’s most wanted men to surrender, has left followers of the police-manned page reeling.
Those who headed to the JCF’s IG page for their weekly dose of laughter say they were not disappointed, as not only was the name and photo of the first wanted man Rameish Griffiths, who bears the alias “Nikki” posted, citing him for “wounding with intent,” but alongside the photo was Brysco’s voice repeatedly urging “Gimmi Nikki Gimmi”.
“We want ‘Nikki’! If you know the whereabouts of Rameish Griffiths, call Crime Stop at 311. Hand him over to us and keep your neighbourhood safe,” the police officers captioned the post.
Gimmi Nikki, which also featured Broad Thickaz, was one of the first songs to be recorded on Rvssian’s Dutty Money riddim. It sampled Vybz Kartel’s Picture You and Me and the melody from the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.
The comments from followers of the page in response to the Gimmi Nikki post, were hilarious.
“Gimmi Nikki gimmi😂😂. Him dung a brysco yard😂😂,” one woman quipped, while another added: “Did Russian authorize this??”
One used General B’s Nikki to jeer Griffiths, using General B’s 1994 song Nicky, which was recorded on the Colin Gat label’s X-Rated riddim.
“How the song go again? Afta dem send Nikki gah school…. to which another finished the line noting: “Nikki gone ah man yaad”🤦🏾.
On the Super Cat Ghetto Red Hot post, the JCF shared an image of Joseph “Jayo” Mckenzie with a spliff in his mouth, and predicted that the St James native, who is wanted for murder, would surrender very soon.
“In a world where doing the right thing matters, one man stands on the edge of a decision. This June, watch ‘Joseph Turns Himself In’, coming to a station near you,” the JCF noted in the caption.
At the same time the sounds of Super Cat’s 1992 song rang out:
“Yuh fulla big chat an caan defend dat
If a jailhouse yuh come from, wi sending you go back
Yuh fulla big chat an caan defend dat
If a Bellevue yuh come from, wi sending you go back”.
The Bellevue referenced by Super Cat, is Jamaica’s psychiatric hospital and is the leading mental health facility in the Caribbean.
There was a litany of comments poking fun at the second wanted man, due to the JCF’c choice of music.
“The baddest day of the week is back,” one woman gleefully wrote in response to the post.
“When oonuh ketch dem post it wid the song from Judge dread…,” one follower recommended, citing Prince Buster’s 1967 Rocksteady song Judge Dread, about a judge who had a penchant for sentencing violent criminals to periods of no less than 100 to even 400 years and more, resulting in the men bawling in court as their sentences were read.
Wanted Wednesdays, which is rooted in Reggae/Dancehall culture, takes from the names of regular weekly dances, such as Uptown Mondays and was a follow-up to the Constabulary’s Missing Mondays’ campaign.
From the day it was launched, on April 28, 2021 the initiative ignited significant discussion.
At the time, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Stephanie Lindsay, head of the JCF’s Constabulary Communications Unit, had said that the strategy, which was conceptualized by a creative member of the team, was to communicate in a manner in which people are able to easily understand.
“We have a lot of wanted persons out there who are roving around in communities, and nobody knows that they are wanted. Some persons are even harbouring them unknowingly. We have always been putting out their information, but we wanted to communicate in a way that people can understand ” she had told The Gleaner at the time.
SSP Lindsay had also said that the police were “not prepared for the overwhelming response” from the public.
“We were amazed when we saw the responses. Jamaicans are happy people. They are even calling it festive. But the important thing is that people are seeing it and are responsive. Even those who don’t call us to make a report, at least they will know that these persons in their midsts are wanted,” she had told the publication.
