LiveOne
Wayne Smith (born 5 December 1965 in Kingston, Jamaica) was a pioneering dancehall artist best known for his groundbreaking 1985 hit "Under Mi Sleng Teng". He rose to prominence during the early digital era of reggae and dancehall. His collaboration with producer King Jammy on "Under Mi Sleng Teng" marked a seismic shift in reggae music, as it was one of the first songs to use a fully digital riddim, triggering the 'digital dancehall' revolution. The riddim was famously created using a preset from a Casio MT-40 keyboard, and its impact reshaped not only dancehall but also influenced genres like hip-hop and electronic music. His innovative work helped bridge the gap between analogue and digital production in Jamaican music. Throughout his career, Wayne Smith released several albums and worked with notable producers, maintaining a presence in the reggae scene into the 2000s. Despite his death on 17 February 2014, his legacy lives on through the countless artists and producers who sampled or built upon the digital foundations he helped lay.
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