An unidentified street artist in Jamaica painted murals bearing the likeness of several popular Dancehall stars and they are really something.
Viral images of the paintings started circulating on the weekend, and have since drawn astonished looks and laughter from not only fans but some of the Dancehall artists themselves. The source of the doppelgängers remains unknown but of those portrayed on the murals, Popcaan, Shenseea, and Jada Kingdom have shared their amusement on social media.
Street art is a common feature of Jamaica’s visual landscape, seen everywhere from inner-city walls and houses to busy thoroughfares in the capital. The talent behind these aesthetics vary, but many agree that whoever the artist is, they missed the mark entirely with the sketchy celebrity artwork.
Also among those portrayed were Skillibeng, Vybz Kartel, Alkaline, Mavado, Quada, and Dancehall producer Usain Bolt, and before long, the baffled reactions started rolling in.
Each image was marked with the artist’s name, but the actual resemblance was another issue, especially in Jada Kingdom’s case.
“DWFL!!! ah huu draw disya !?” Twinkle asked in her festive patois about the image which lacked even one of her tattoos or signature low cut hairdo.
While the image of Jada looked nothing like her whatsoever, Popcaan fared better with likeness but the deejay still wasn’t having it.
“Dah smaddy yah ugly yuh f—! A who? Popcaan quipped to an acquaintance in a voice message shared to his Instagram. The Twist & Turn singer was clearly unimpressed with his likeness and the way the artist matched the plaits and blazer to a photo from Summerjam 2013.
Shenseea was also amused by the creativity, and though the artist missed all the ShenYeng boss’ finer features, he did score with her ‘R+ch Immigrants’ bling.
“My babies really do try” she wrote in her IG stories.
“Noooo man. DIS ARTIST NEEDS TO BE STOPPED,” one fan wrote about the images. “Mek dem do Quada farrid suh,” another added.
Vybz Kartel: Vybz Start smell: pic.twitter.com/cVWssstqCX
— CAMPARIPAPI
(@yawdmontweets) February 7, 2021
Quada: Nuh bada: pic.twitter.com/0DcRDgakhR
— CAMPARIPAPI
(@yawdmontweets) February 7, 2021
