Eek-A-Mouse — Father of the Singjay
Introduction:
Born Ripton Joseph Hylton on 19 November 1957 in Kingston, Jamaica, Eek-A-Mouse is one of the most genuinely original, creative and entertaining artists the reggae world has ever produced. AllMusic calls him the "Father of the singjaying style of toasting, and one of Jamaica's oddest, funniest, and most creative musical exports of the '80s." He invented — or at least perfected — a vocal style that blended conventional roots reggae singing with toasting, scatting and invented near-onomatopoeia: the signature "biddy-biddy-bong-bong" and cascading nonsense syllables that could conjure comedy, menace or poetry depending on his mood. There is no one who sounds like Eek-A-Mouse, before or since.
The Name, The Horse, The Sound:
Ripton Hylton began his career in college, recording early roots reggae singles produced by his mathematics teacher. He then spent several years working for various Kingston sound systems, gradually developing his distinctive style. He adopted the name Eek-A-Mouse in 1979 — taken from a racehorse he habitually bet on, which his friends had long used as his nickname. The only time he ever decided not to bet on the horse, the story goes, Eek-A-Mouse won.
His career transformed when he linked up with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes in 1980. Together they cut "Wa-Do-Dem" — a gossip anthem built on a rolling Roots Radics riddim that captured Jamaica's imagination entirely. When "Wa-Do-Dem" was released, Eek-A-Mouse had arrived — with a sound so unlike anything else, equal parts singing, deejaying and disconcerting, otherworldly weirdness, that soon all of Jamaica was raving about the rodent.
Eek - A - Mouse - The Best Of Track Listing:
01 Chinchilla Choons - Joe Lickshot (intro).mp3
02 Chinchilla Choons Presents - Eek- A - Mouse - Ganja Smuggling - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
03 For Hire And Removal - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
04 Neutron Bomb - Eek- A - Mouse.mp3
05 Wah Do Dem - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
06 Operation Eradication - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
07 Do You Remember - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
08 Anarexol - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
09 The Mouse And The Man - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
10 Eek A Mouse - Atlantis Lover.mp3
11 What A Me Go Do - Eek - A - Mouse.mp3
12 Eek A Mouse - Noah's Ark -12".mp3
13 Chinchilla Choons - Joe Lickshot.mp3
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Reggae Sunsplash Star & International Success:
In 1981, Eek-A-Mouse was the undisputed star of Reggae Sunsplash — the festival held that year as a tribute to Bob Marley, who had died earlier in the year. His bubbling lunacy provided exactly the cathartic release that a grieving audience needed. Over the following years he scored hit after hit: "Wild Like a Tiger", "Ganja Smuggling", "For Hire and Removal", "Operation Eradication" (written about the murder of his close friend, the DJ Errol Shorter), and his 1984 answer to fans' most-asked question, "How I Got My Name". His albums with Junjo Lawes and Linval Thompson — Wa Do Dem, Skidip, Mouse and the Man, Mouseketeer — are classics of early dancehall.
By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, his reputation grew among rock audiences, culminating in a deal with Island Records and the 1991 album U-Neek, which included a reggae cover of Led Zeppelin's "D'Yer Mak'er" and the hit single "You're the Only One I Need". He appeared in the 1991 gangster film New Jack City, and has continued to tour and record across five decades of music-making.
Key Albums:
- Bubble Up Yu Hip (1980) — debut
- Wa Do Dem (1982) — defining album
- Skidip (1982)
- Mouse and the Man (1983)
- Mouseketeer (1984)
- Assassinator (1984, RAS Records US debut)
- U-Neek (1991, Island Records)
- Black Cowboy (1996)
- Eekziled (2011)
Eek-A-Mouse on Reggae On A Stick: 
Eek-A-Mouse is one of the featured artists on our Reggae On A Stick USB — 100 of the greatest reggae albums compiled onto a single plug-and-play USB drive. Experience one of reggae's most brilliantly original voices alongside 99 other legends of Jamaican music.
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