The year 1985 witnessed a groundbreaking development in the riddim-driven dancehall music with the release of “Under Mi Sleng Teng,” a riddim with vocals by Ian ‘Wayne’ Smith produced by Noel Davey and Lloyd “King Jammy” James. The riddim album “Sleng Teng” marked the popularity of computerized riddims, forever altering the trajectory of reggae and influencing music worldwide.
The genesis of Sleng Teng can be traced back to a seemingly unconventional source—an unexpected gift of a consumer-grade Casiotone MT-40 keyboard to musician Noel Davey by George “Buddy” Haye.
“Because I had a little melodica playing, people used to see my talent and say if this youth got a keyboard, he would do a lot better. So when (reggae group) Wailing Souls went up to America, Garth Dennis (one of the group’s members) came to me and said ‘You know Bunny send a keyboard for you?’ Davey recalled in the Sunday Gleaner.
Initially disappointed by the keyboard’s limitations, Davey, along with fellow musician Wayne Smith who had started hanging around him, stumbled upon a game-changing “rock” bassline preset composed by Casio engineer Okuda Hiroko in 1980, that would become the heartbeat of Sleng Teng.
Experimenting with the MT-40, Davey and Smith crafted the initial version of the riddim. Inspired by Barrington Levy’s “Under Mi Sensi,” Wayne Smith added his vocals for the song “Under Me Sleng Teng,” and the composition made its way to King Jammy on December 5, 1984. Jammy, with a keen eye for music, recognized the uniqueness of the riddim, slowed it down, added piano and clap tracks, and matched it to Smith’s singing key.
The world first experienced the power of “Sleng Teng,” the iconic “rock” preset on the MT-40, set to reggae tempo by Jammy in a legendary sound clash between Jammy’s Sound System and Black Scorpio on February 23, 1985.
In this exclusive WMV interview feature, Jack Scorpio and King Jammy recall the genesis of the riddim and the first moments the song by Wayne Smith was played at the sound clash.
“It was created at my studio really, by Noel Davey and Wayne Smith who brought it to my studio and they didn’t know how to get the tempo right, to get it to the reggae tempo. A me play the percussion tempo on it.” King Jammy told WMV on Tuesday afternoon.
Jammy explained that the term ‘Dancehall’ for the genre originated during that period because, much like the physical dance hall where multiple artists performed live verse and freestyles on turntables with a microphone, the recording of dancehall music involved numerous artists performing on a single riddim.
“It (Dancehall) start when Sleng Teng came about, that’s the time they start to call the beat dancehall, what really happen is the amount of people that go on one riddim and how it was constructed just like the dancehall,” Jammy said.
As for the first time Sleng Teng was played at the Sound Clash, Jammy said he was confident of the responses because he had already tested the crowd’s response by playing the song in his community before taking it to the major showdown event.
“Me did feel normal, because me did done a get a good feedback in my neighborhood in Waterhouse and got a good feedback so it wasn’t surprising to me, thats how I knew and thats how I test out the radium them,” Jammys said.
Jack Scorpio on the other had said when he heard the Wayne Smith “Under Me Sleng Teng” for the first time in February 85 he knew the clash was over. “That was one of the first times he played it. It was me and Stone Love was there as well,” Jack recalled, confessing that Jammy had won the clash. “It created a great impact in the dance. It made him win the clash. I did have him off, and him play it with Wayne Smith as the artist, and the place mashed up with ‘Under Me Sleng Teng,'” he said.
The official release of the single one week later ushered in Sleng Teng‘s worldwide dominance, with the riddim and song boasting over 500 covers nearly four decades later. Jammy confirmed with WMV that he, along with the other composers, continues to reap the rewards of the track’s enduring success. ‘I definitely derive benefits from it, and all the composers gain from its success.
Jack Scorpio, born Maurice Johnson, refuses Jammys claim said that Sleng Teng was the beggining of dancehall style riddim and said it was not the first computerized riddim- at least two were already popular in the dancehall in Jamaica.
“I did have ‘Lazy Body’ just before that. ‘Lazy Body’ was the second computer riddim to make, after ‘Everybody Get Flat.’ At the dance, there were two computer riddims, and then he dropped ‘Sleng Teng,’ but it was a song that really erupted the dance and caused him to win the clash,” Jack emphasized.
“Blood Fyah Posse had the first big song on the first computer (dancehall) riddim,” Scorpio reiterated.
“That was the first hit song, then ‘Lazy Body,’ then Sleng Teng. Me produced ‘Lazy Body’ a little before Sleng Teng, in ’84,” he said.
In the mid to late 80s, Jamaica became a hub for drummers from all corners of Kingston, who were experimenting with riddim-driven sounds. However, Jack emphasizes that due credit should be accorded to the members of Bloodfyah Posse for their pioneering role in shaping what has evolved into the contemporary dancehall scene. He said members such as Paul Emerson Blake, Donovan ‘Benjie’ Belnavis, Carl ‘Teddy P’ Ayton, Alden ‘Trapper John’ Stewart, and Danny Browne, the sibling of Cleveland Browne, also known as Clevie from the renowned Steely and Clevie duo all contributed.
“The same guys who worked on Blood Fyah Posse made ‘Lazy Body’ for me. They created the whole sound, especially the guy with the drum. After a while, Steely and Clevie came and made a big impact with computer sound,” he said, adding, “With the same drum sound and the keyboard.”
Both men can agree that the February 1985 Sound Clash played an integral role in the development of digital dancehall in the ’80s, and they lament on the importance of the overall Sound System to Jamaican music culture amidst its present day demise.
“I don’t see Sound System culture again, only the sound system them a play really, and you hear a good sound, the culture of the whole movement and the dancehall, I don’t see them thing deh again,” Jammys professed.
“The dance buss the riddim. A little after that(85 sound clash), me voiced ‘Style and Fashion’ with Papa San. Sound systems do so much for this fraternity, and they act like it’s the worst thing to happen, but Sound System and Dancehall put Jamaica on the world map, and they should put more credit to it to make us feel proud,” Jack said.
Scorpio said he started out with a single turntable and speaker sound system until in 1972; he established the Special I sound system, which was then changed to Black Scorpio. The rebranding was prompted by local tensions, as the original name caused friction in the community due to perceived affiliations with the Jamaica Labour Party, resembling the party’s slogan.
“I started playing from 1968, and Jammys used to cut dub for me at Tubbys when he was young. He did have a sound in Canada, but he never had one in Jamaica, and I had my sound playing from the ’60s and ’70s,” Johnson said.
Referred to as ‘The Horseman Sound’ due to Johnson’s ownership of racehorses and the close association with deejays General Trees and Lord Sassafrass, who shared a connection with horse racing, Black Scorpio swiftly ascended to become a prominent sound system in Jamaica. Other notable deejays, including Culture Lee, Shukashine, Barry Bak, and Lady G, also contributed to the Black Scorpio Sound’s success.
Now celebrating 55 years in the music business, Johnson says it’s disheartening to see the lack of regard for the Sound System and its pioneers in Jamaica, while others take the culture and make it their own.
“We shouldn’t let European people take it like they created it and throw us under the carpet like we don’t have any value. They don’t realize the power of Bob Marley until now. Just like we have some of the greatest runners because they have places to run, in the same way, we need a proper place for dancehall to play,” he said.
One of the key pieces of legislation that Jack says curtailed the Sound System culture is the government’s implementation and enforcement of The Noise Abatement Act of 1997. In accordance with the law, a person may be charged $50,000 or spend 12 months in prison if they “sing, play a musical or noisy instrument or operate or cause to be operated a loudspeaker, microphone, or device for the amplification of sound from any private premises or public places at any time of day or night where the sound is audible within one hundred meters of the source of that sound.” At the same time, he says the government has not put in place adequate indoor venues dedicated to entertainment. Except for hotels, most entertainment events with a crowed over 5000 are held in parking lots or on the beaches nearby residential areas.
Over the years, several artists and event promoters have been fined under The Act.
Damian Marley commented to WMV on the need for changes to the act and its effect on the culture.
“The Noise Abatement Act needs proper attention. I understand the need to respect residential zones, but Jamaica’s Reggae music is part of brand Jamaica. It also feeds a lot of people, and a lot of people depend on it. I also don’t like the censoring of the music. Just like we should be free to pray, we should be free to cuss whoever we want. I don’t like censorship,” Damian said.
Jack Scorpio, who founded his record label in the ’80s, echoes Damian’s sentiments, saying, “They can’t just shut down the ghetto like that and don’t have anywhere to put them. They just come lock down the poor people’s thing with the Noise Abatement Act. I am not saying I am against it, but they should make preparations to put the sound elsewhere so the sound could come to play. They are not trying to preserve the culture that put Jamaica on the world map.”
The Dancehall pioneer said the Sound System was the original talent search long before Rising Stars. Through his studio on Molynes Road in Kingston’s Drewsland area, Johnson achieved his first producer hit in 1982 with “Pink Eye” by DJ Sassafrass, followed by more significant success in 1985 with “Pocomania Jump.”
The roster of Black Scorpio productions features recordings by the late Bunny Rugs (of Third World), Dennis Brown (More), Gregory Isaacs (Consequence), Frankie Paul (True, Start of a Romance), Garnett Silk, King Kong, Mafia & Fluxy, Papa San (Style and Fashion), Capleton, Bounty Killer, Pliers, Mega Banton, Barrington Levy, Beenie Man, and Luciano (Serve Jah).
“My catalog is priceless,” Jack boasts, adding that he would consider selling or licensing his extensive catalog of dancehall hits, but he is yet to be approached with the right deal.
“It’s just because I haven’t gotten the right deal yet, and we can come to a right deal because Jack Scorpio has a massive catalog. Dennis Brown’s ‘Friends For Life,’ his last hit song, I produced it on the same (Friends For Life) riddim as Garnet Silk’s ‘Zion in a Vision.’ I am one of the men who come from nothing and build up. Headley Avenue was the spot just like them coming to Stone Love now, my place was the place where everybody used to come every Thursday night. Buju, Shabba Rankin, name them, they came so everything we do is a great thing for the music,” he said.
Recognizing Johnson’s significant contributions, he was inducted into the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) Hall of Fame in 2010.
“No disrespect to the OD (Order Of Distinction), but everybody who they give passed through my hand, but they didn’t give me. I got recognition from. I voiced Beenie Man from when he was nine years old,” he boasts.
“I feel good about what I do,” Jack concluded.
