Krista Henry and Sadeke Brooks, Star writers

( L - R ) Macka Diamond, Mavado - file photos

The gods of dancehall have grown in number, dominating everything from energy, money and gullies.

Bounty Killer is well known for using 'godly' slangs.

'Grung Gadd' is only one of dancehall veteran's many monikers and shows the need of some artistes to be seen at the top of their game.

The deejay has changed his titles many times, often putting himself in a position of ever evolving authority whether as the 'warlord', 'poor people's defender' moving up the ranks to the 'five star general', 'ghetto gladiator' and most recently above everyone as the 'grung gadd'.

In a single Caan Dis Ground God he reasons: "If Beenie Man is the King of Dancehall, he is the Ground God (on earth only)."

Counteraction

Beenie Man followed with a counteraction for the single with the song, (Watch it Mek Mi) Step Pon a Ground God. Bounty Killer in an act of lowering Beenie Man's status rebuts with comments like How can a Tongue God kill a Ground God?

"I respect and love God, when I say I am a grung gadd, I spell it different fi mek the distinction, my own spell G-R-U-N-G G-A-D-D. As men, we govern things, that is why I say I am a grung gad, we are all grung gads because we govern things on the earth," Bounty said in a recent interview.

With growing popularity or notoriety, Mavado's has transformed from the 'Real McKoy' to emulate his mentor Bounty Killer by calling himself the 'Gully God.'

In his recent song Don't Worry he takes on unearthly powers as he sings "di gully side been best to mi, mi uplift di gully side dats part of mi destiny" he continues "every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to me." The vibe is carried on On The Rock , which borrows from a gospel song of the same name, where he opens "my name is so excellent."

Elephant Man has long been known as the 'Energy God'. However Elephant Man has never used it to elevate himself to a god-like status. More often than not, it simply speaks to his high-energy performances.

"Dat name was given to me by the promoters of Sting and the Jamaican fans for all the energy I have on stage. They put the god on it because I am so great at what I do, All a wi a god pon earth," Elephant Man said.

According to writer and lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Dr. Donna Hope, positioning themselves as gods of the dancehall gives the artiste a 'Hollywood bad man persona.'

Dr Hope told the STAR, "People find methods to elevate themselves, the idea of being a god means you have a certain level of dominance. Its a kinda effort they use to uplift, or elevate themselves in that regard. There is a certain connotation of being in a contest so they take their activities to a certain level."

Money goddess

More recently Money-O's Macka Diamond has evolved to the 'money goddess.' However she does not use it as a means of power according to Macka Diamond for her its really about the hype.

She told the STAR, "Last year I went to New York with Kool Face and went into a store to buy a costume with the US dollars on it. The tag in it said Money Goddess. Kool Face seh mi fi start call miself dat. So fi di new year mi start pressure it an' it work."