Meaning
Suddenly, all at once, in an instant — an expressive word for something that happens abruptly and without warning. 'Bapps, him gone' means 'just like that, he was gone', vanished in a blink. Its clipped, popping sound catches the suddenness it names, and it belongs with 'bragadaps' among the Jamaican sound-words that dramatise an action, marking the very instant a thing happens: a fall, a departure, a sudden turn of events that arrives out of nowhere and is over in a flash.
Examples
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Bapps! Di light gaan.
Just like that, the power went out.
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Him did deh yah, den bapps, him disappear.
He was right here, then suddenly he vanished.
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Bapps bapps, everyting done.
In no time at all, everything was finished.
Origin
An onomatopoeic word imitating the suddenness of a quick action — the verbal equivalent of a snap of the fingers.
How it’s used
Vivid and playful, often doubled ('bapps bapps') for speed. Used to dramatise how fast something happened.