How X-Rated Lyrics and Digital Beats Delivered Dancehall to the Masses
In 1980s Jamaica, slackness and gun talk inspired a new generation of electronic riddim builders
The success of “Sleng Teng” had dramatic and far-reaching effects on Jamaican popular music during the mid-1980s. Previously, singers initiated most reggae songs by bringing lyrics and a melody to a producer, whose session players would construct a musical arrangement. After King Jammy and Wayne Smith’s “Under Mi Sleng Teng,” most music was constructed by technically proficient keyboard players, or non-musical technicians clever enough to build a basic computer rhythm, to which lyrics were subsequently added; such material was often created without the input of actual musicians, resulting in a rugged form geared towards sound system devotees.
Although the new sound may have baffled overseas listeners, particularly those enamored with roots reggae, in Jamaica “Sleng Teng” and its successors made perfect sense. The brash sound of computer drums reflected the harsh reality of modern…
