Sleng Teng, the first digital dancehall riddim
Sleng Teng, el primer ritmo digital del dancehall
- Date
- 1985 · confidence high
- Place
- Prince Jammy's studio, Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica
- Credited to
- Wayne Smith, King Jammy (Lloyd James) and Noel Davey
- Field
- Communication
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
'Under Mi Sleng Teng' (1985) was built on a preset rhythm of a Casio MT-40 keyboard and displaced live bands with tracks generated on cheap electronic instruments. It inaugurated digital dancehall and riddim production.
The exact keyboard and the details of who found the rhythm on the Casio (Noel Davey, with Wayne Smith) are told with variants; the hit came in February 1985.
What it led to
- digital dancehall and ragga produced with synthesisers and drum machines
- hundreds of versions over the same riddim
- influence on hip hop, reggaeton and electronic music