Dancehall’s Gerald “Bogle” Levy Slain
Gerald “Bogle” Levy, the leading dancehall choreographer for more than a decade, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the early morning hours of January 20th in Kingston, Jamaica.
Levy and four others had pulled up in his car at a shopping-district gas station when two men on motorbike sped past, shooting into the vehicle. The passengers were rushed to Kingston Public Hospital, where the forty-year-old Levy was pronounced dead and three others — including a sixteen-year-old boy — are currently in serious condition. The home of John Hype, Levy’s creative rival over the last year, was burned to the ground just hours later.
In the Nineties, Levy created the Bogle, the scene’s first crossover dance move. He was also a major influence on breakout artists such as Elephant Man and Beenie Man, who gave shout-outs to Levy in songs like “Row Like a Boat”: “Seh Mr. Bogle have di brand new style/Come get di style, come get di style.”
Beenie Man has posted a $1 million reward for the capture of the shooters.