World of Jamaican Music

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An illustrated map of the creators of Jamaican music and how they are connected.

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Ninjaman

Artist. Dancehall

Active
1980-present
Sunrise
January 20, 1966, Kingston, Jamaica
Also known as
Don Gorgon, The Front Tooth Don

Desmond John Ballentine, born in Annotto Bay, St. Mary, in January 1966, is the deejay against whom the dancehall clash was measured for the better part of a decade. Since 2017 he has been serving a life sentence for murder.

His family moved to Kingston when he was eleven or twelve. He began on the Black Culture sound system as Double Ugly, and in 1980 joined Killamanjaro, where he selected and deejayed as Uglyman and worked alongside Super Cat and Early B. His first record, "Protection," a duet with the singer Courtney Melody, appeared in 1986 and was self-produced; "Cover Me," with Tinga Stewart, was his first substantial hit two years later.

The records that made him were cut between 1989 and 1992 and were gunman records: "Murder Dem," "My Weapon," "Permit to Bury," "Above the Law," and "Border Clash." LargeUp writes of a "stream-of-consciousness spontaneous storytelling style," moving in and out of the riddim like a free jazz saxophonist, and calls him "dancehall music's Edgar Allan Poe." His reputation rested at least as much on live clashing, and above all on Sting. "Ting-A-Ling-A-Ling School Pickney Sing Ting" was his answer to Shabba's "Ting-A-Ling." He also had long-running rivalries with Flourgon and Super Cat, and later with Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, and Vybz Kartel. He voiced "Donnett" for Steely and Clevie, one of the very few jungle-styled records made in Jamaica, and the style went no further there.

By 1993 the gun material had become a liability and the bookings and sessions thinned out, though he continued to record for Henry "Junjo" Lawes and Junior Reid. In 1997 he began performing gospel as Brother Desmond, part of an effort to get clear of a cocaine habit, and the change was neither complete nor well received by the churches. He was charged with and acquitted of several serious offenses in the late 1990s and served a year for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition in 1999. He made his screen debut as Deportee in Third World Cop in 1999. In 2015 he parted from Downsound Records and opened his own Picture Frame Studio on Blackwood Terrace.

On November 20, 2017, after a trial held in camera, Ballentine was convicted in the Home Circuit Court of the murder of twenty-year-old Ricardo Johnson, shot in March 2009, along with his son Janeil Ballentine and Dennis Clayton; the prosecution argued common design rather than establishing who fired. On December 18 he was sentenced to life with parole eligibility after twenty-five years, and to a concurrent twenty years for shooting with intent. His two co-defendants received life with eligibility after fifteen. The appeal has been repeatedly delayed, in part by the sunset of his lead counsel, Jacqueline Neita-Robertson, and the Court of Appeal heard it in July 2026 and reserved judgment.

Last updated November 5, 2026

Connections

Notes

  1. The Rough Guide says he "was once seen as Shabba's main rival" and that "almost any record from 1990 to 1992 bearing Ninjaman's name is worth hearing." Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 330. Wikipedia gives Annotto Bay and January 24, 1966. "Ninjaman," Wikipedia, accessed October 4, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninjaman.
  2. Wikipedia: Kingston "at the age of 12," Black Culture "as 'Double Ugly'," and Killamanjaro in 1980 alongside Super Cat and Early B. "Ninjaman."
  3. The Rough Guide: he "first established his reputation beyond Kingston's dancehalls on a series of 'combination'-style 45s - alongside first, Courtney Melody, and then the veteran Tinga Stewart." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330. Wikipedia dates "Protection" to 1987. "Ninjaman." The Rough Guide notes that King Tubby's apprentices recorded early Ninjaman tracks. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 240.
  4. The Rough Guide dates the takeoff to 1990, "with far more original hits like 'Murder Dem'" for Steely & Clevie, and notes "My Weapon." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330, 311. "Ninjaman."
  5. Jesse Serwer, Sherman Escoffery, and Spliffington, "Toppa Top 10: Ten Essential Ninjaman Tunes," LargeUp, April 11, 2012, https://www.largeup.com/2012/04/11/toppa-top-10-ten-essential-ninjaman-tunes/7/?amp=1.
  6. The Rough Guide: "He dissed his rivals - especially Flourgon and Shabba Ranks - with some of the most lethal 'burial' tunes ever." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330.
  7. The Rough Guide calls it "one of the few junglist pieces to come out of Jamaica itself," spelled "Donette." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330.
  8. Wikipedia dates the decline to 1993. "Ninjaman." The Rough Guide notes a 1996 comeback with "Old Picture Frame" and "Many More Miles" for Bobby Digital and lists Junior Reid among his producers. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330.
  9. The Rough Guide: "By early 1997 the deejay had rediscovered the Christian religion," with the Richie Stephens-produced "Born Again." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330. Wikipedia mentions the cocaine addiction and the name Brother Desmond. "Ninjaman."
  10. The Rough Guide notes "a year's prison sentence for illegal possession of a firearm." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 330.
  11. Wikipedia lists Third World Cop (1999) and the Picture Frame studio. "Ninjaman."
  12. The victim was Ricardo Johnson, "popularly known as 'Ricky Trooper'"; the killing followed a domestic altercation on Lower Mall Road. "Ninja Man and Co-Convicts Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder, Entertainer Must Serve 25 Years before Parole," Jamaica Gleaner, December 18, 2017, https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20171218/ninja-man-and-co-convicts-sentenced-life-prison-murder-entertainer-must-serve. At the appeal the Crown acknowledged "that no witness identified who fired the fatal shot." "Crown Defends Ninjaman Convictions," Jamaica Gleaner, July 24, 2026, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260724/crown-defends-ninjaman-convictions. The Observer reported that a session of the trial "was held in camera at the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston." Brian Bonitto, "Ninja Halts Trial," Jamaica Observer, November 3, 2017, https://jamaicaobserver.com/2017/11/03/ninja-halts-trial.
  13. "Ninja Man and Co-Convicts Sentenced."
  14. Ballentine's counsel, Valerie Neita Robertson, died in February 2025, and the appeal was put back to March 2026. "Ninja Man Murder Appeal Delayed to March 2026," Jamaica Gleaner, December 8, 2025, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20251208/ninja-man-murder-appeal-delayed-march-2026. The hearing finally began on July 22, 2026, and ended with the court reserving judgment. "Ninja Man and Co-Accused Appeal Hearing Delayed Again, to Begin Wednesday," Jamaica Gleaner, July 20, 2026, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260720/ninja-man-and-co-accused-appeal-hearing-delayed-again-begin-wednesday. "Crown Defends Ninjaman Convictions," Jamaica Gleaner, July 24, 2026, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260724/crown-defends-ninjaman-convictions. Tanesha Mundle, "Crown Defends Ninjaman Convictions," Jamaica Gleaner, July 24, 2026, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260724/crown-defends-ninjaman-convictions.

World of Jamaican Music: the whole map