Project Description

SOUND SYSTEM PIONEER

U-Roy as his most prominent deejay and with access to some of Treasure Isle Studios’ finest rocksteady rhythms, extraordinarily popular and U-Roy became a local celebrity.

U-Roy, began as a sound system DJ in Jamaica in 1961, spinning records for the Doctor Dickies set, later known as Dickies Dynamic, in such well-known Jamaican venues as Victoria Pier, Foresters Hall and Emmett Park.

U-Roy’s inspiration was the DJ Winston Count Machuki, who worked for Coxsone Dodd and subsequently on Prince Buster’s Voice Of The People sound system. By the mid-60s he was DJ for Sir George The Atomic, based around Maxfield Avenue in Kingston. Around 1967 he began to work with King Tubby as DJ for his Home Town Hi-Fi. From this association developed the whole modern DJ style;

His first single “Earth’s Rightful Ruler” was recorded with Peter Tosh for Lee “Scratch” Perry. He recorded Dynamic Fashion Way (his first successful release) for Keith Hudson in 1969, and then went on to work with almost every major producer on the island: Lee Perry, Peter Tosh, Bunny Lee, Phil Pratt, Sonia Pottinger, Rupie Edwards, Alvin Ranglin and Lloyd Daley.

Poster Design: Micheal Freestyle