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King Jammy, The Man Behind Dancehall’s Largest Riddim “Sleng Teng” Speaks On It’s Origins

blame it on JES7 July 27, 2015

To the unschooled, the name “Sleng Teng” may not be entirely familiar. Nonetheless, upon hearing the first few bars of “Sleng Teng,” that little light over your head will click on. You’ll start dancing and mashing ‘pon one of the world’s most renowned dancehall riddims.

“Sleng Teng” was produced by the legendary (and when I say legendary, I mean iconic legendary) King Jammy and Wayne Smith – and when it first started making its rounds, it was formally known as “Under Mi Sleng Teng.” It is also considered the first digitally composed riddim.

Throughout it’s history, “Sleng Teng” has been used in the creation of some of dancehall’s biggest smashes – from Barrington Levy’s “Under Mi Sensi” to John Wayne’s “Call The Police,” Ninjaman’s “Murder Dem,” Burro Banton’s “Attention,” Super Morris’ “Under Mi Peter Green” and even a Cypress Hill version. In a nutshell, the list is near endless.

In light of King Jammy’s recently released Roots, Reality and Sleng Teng – a 2xCD plus DVD, VP Records uploaded a small clip of the bonus DVD.

In the clip above, Prince Jammy details how the riddim came about and it’s international impact that yielded many covers. Without “Sleng Teng,” there’s quite the possibility that there would be no “No, No, No” by Dawn Penn, or artists like Ninjaman, Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Shabba Ranks, Barrington Levy…. and the list goes on.

To end this piece is simple: Big up ya chest King Jammy; you are bad like yaz and an absolute bad mon!