dancehall reggae | Musicosity

dancehall reggae

Rico Rodriguez

Emmanuel Rodriguez (Rico, Reco, El Reco) (b. 1934) is a Jamaican trombonist. Born on 17th October 1934 in Kingston, Jamaica, by the age of ten he had learnt to play the trombone from strict nuns. In the 1950s, Rodriguez became a Rasta, and became closely musically related to Rasta drummer Count Ossie. He recorded with many producers, including Prince Buster and Lloyd 'Matador' Daley. In 1961, Rodriguez moved to Eng;and, where he continued to play in bands.

Artist Type: 

Spragga Benz

Spragga Benz (born Carlton Grant in Kingston, Jamaica on May 30, 1969), is one of Jamaica's most famous Deejays. He began his career around 1991. Once known to his friends as Spaghetti (tall and slim) but later shortened to Spragga. The Benz in his name comes from the sound system for which he used to work for, L.a. Benz, and it is through this that he found his way into the music business at a Dubplate recording session with Buju Banton. The famed elder DJ was slated to do 4 tracks for L.a. Benz but only voiced two and suggested that Spragga do the other two.

Artist Type: 

Lone Ranger

Borrowing his stage name from the popular TV Western hero of the same name, the Lone Ranger was one of Jamaica's most influential early dancehall DJs. He helped pioneer a newly rhythmic, on-the-beat rhyming style that led DJ toasting into the modern age, and punctuated his lyrics with bizarre exclamations and sound effects ("bim" and "ribbit" were his favorites) that made him perhaps the most imaginative stylist of his time.

Artist Type: 

Junior Murvin

Junior Murvin (born Murvin Smith Jr. in Port Antonio, circa 1949) is a Jamaican reggae artist. He is best known for the classic single "Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976. Murvin's soaring voice and the infectious rhythm made "Police and Thieves" into an international hit during the summer of 1976. The song was so influential that it was recorded by the punk rock pioneers The Clash on their debut album the following year.

Artist Type: 

Smiley Culture

Smiley Culture (real name David Emmanuel) was a British reggae singer and DJ. Although his period of fame and success was brief, he did produce two of the most critically acclaimed reggae singles of the 1980s. Emmanuel, born and raised in South London, is the son of a Jamaican father and South American mother. He was educated at Tulse Hill School. Prior to his recording career he worked as a DJ with the Saxon Studio International reggae soundsystem, where he met and worked with a number of other reggae artists, including Maxi Priest, Papa Levi and Tippa Irie.

Artist Type: 

Version

There are at least two entries with the artist name 'Version': 1) 'Version' is a project by producers Charles Webster and and Martin 'Atjazz' Iveson. http://versionsounds.com 2) 'Version' refers to the instrumental backing every reggae track. Traditionally, the track with artist would be on Side A of a 45-RPM record; the "riddim" version of same track would appear on Side B. In modern times, where MP3s are much more popular than vinyl, the riddim appears at the end of a riddim release CD or MP3 release.

Artist Type: 

Morgan Heritage

Morgan Heritage is a reggae band formed by five children of famed reggae-artist Denroy Morgan. Despite their relative youth, they have been referred to as "reggae royalty". Having grown up in their father's music studio in the U.S. the group, then consisting of eight of the children, made their first appearance at Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica. They were subsequently signed by MCA and released their debut album Miracles in 1994. They have since criticized Miracles as being overly pop-influenced.

Artist Type: 

U Brown

Huford Brown aka U Brown is a born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1956. He discovered Jamaican music by visiting local bars near the Treasure Isle studio with his father. He began mixing at the age of 15 for Philip Monroe at Sound Of Music. He became well known from his early hits such as ''Wet Up Your Pants Foot'' and ''Jah Jah Whip Them''. In 1975, he recorded his first album ''Satta Dread," which was released in Jamaica and England.

Artist Type: 

Little John

There are two artists called Little John 1. b. John McMorris, C. 1970, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. McMorris first recorded with Captain Sinbad for the Youth In Progress label at the tender age of nine, where his piping interjections contrasted neatly with Sinbad's gruff style, and throughout the 80's he was seldom out of the Reggae charts. Claimed by many to be the first Dancehall singer, his ability to fit lyrics over any rhythm or backing track became something of a legend in a business that has scant regard for second takes and "dropping in.

Artist Type: