ENTITY · PERSON (ARTIST, SELECTOR, PRODUCER…)

Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson

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Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson (1962 - 1 September 2009) was a Jamaican keyboardist and producer who, with drummer Cleveland "Clevie" Browne, formed the dominant late-1980s and 1990s production duo Steely and Clevie. He first gained notice as a keyboardist on Sugar Minott's 1979 album Ghetto-ology and as a member of the Roots Radics before the duo became house producers at King Jammy's studio and launched their own label in 1987.

Their computerised rhythms helped define the digital dancehall era through hits with Dawn Penn, Foxy Brown and many others. He died in New York at age 47 following a heart attack.

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At a glance

Type: Person (artist, selector, producer…) →
Era: Dancehall and the digital turn →
Confidence: Probable
Sources: Wikipedia; Tiny Mix Tapes.

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In Loving Memory of Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson | Reggae Legends Remember

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Story · Well supportedWho owns the riddim?

A rhythm built in a Kingston studio in 1989 travelled to Panama, through New York, into San Juan, and became the pulse of the biggest Spanish-language pop music on earth. A Los Angeles court is now preparing to put the question of who owns it to a jury.