Collections
From Kingston to a courtroom
The Dembow Route
The records, producers and ports that carried a 1989 Steely & Clevie riddim into reggaeton -- and the copyright case now asking who the rhythm belongs to.
36 records · curated by the atlas editors
A sampling, not a complete record — the archive runs deeper than any list of it. Tell us what is missing.
The 1989 riddim, under both its names.
producer org · Well supportedSteely & Clevie ProductionsThe two men who programmed it.
person · ProbableWycliffe "Steely" JohnsonKeyboards. Died 2009.
person · ProbableCleveland "Clevie" BrowneDrums, and the plaintiff.
recording · Well supported"Dem Bow" — Shabba RanksThe 1990 voicing that sent it abroad.
person · Well supportedShabba RanksWho voiced it.
person · ProbableBobby "Digital" DixonWho produced that record.
concept · Well supportedPanama Canal Zone West Indian migrationWhy Panama was listening in the first place.
place · ProbableColón, PanamaThe port the labour came through.
place · Well supportedPanama City, PanamaWhere dancehall became Spanish.