King Yellowman

Preface ix 

Acknowledgements xiii

 Introduction 1

Part 1. The Life and Times of Yellowman

1 Abandoned: The Early Life of Winston “Yellowman” Foster, 1957–1971 19

2 From Alpha to Eventide: The Teenage Years, 1971–1976 30

3 Ranking Dundus: Breaking into the Music Business, 1977–1978 46

4 Mad over Me: Tastee Talent Competition to Aces International, 1979–1981 74

5 Ram Jam Master, 1981 94

6 Jamaica Proud of Me, 1982 127

7 King Yellowman, 1983–1984 150

8 Can’t Hide from Jah: Encounters with Religion 178

9 Sufferation, That’s All I Know: Cancer, 1985 192

10 Message to the World: Prayer and More Slackness 200

Part 2. Meaningful Bodies in Jamaican Dancehall Culture

11 Yellowman, Race, Sex and Masculinity 225

12 Yellowman in Reggae Histories and Scholarship 248

13 Yellowman, Slackness and Social Critique 286

14 Yellowman as Moral Regulator 296

15 Yellowman, Sex and Religion 313

Conclusion 335

Appendix 1: “Galong Galong Galong” 339

Appendix 2: Selected Album Covers 341

Notes 347

References 357

Index 369

Preface

STANDING BACKSTAGE AT A NEGRIL BEACH CONCERT

IN February 2013 with the moon illuminating the Caribbean Sea was where I experienced peak reggae moment. I stood beside Jamaican deejay King Yellowman, whom I had been researching for several years by this point and had even received a PhD based on a dissertation I wrote on him. Earlier that night I sat in a black Toyota HiAce driven by stoic Sagittarius keyboardist Simeon Stewart. I was in the third row of seats, behind 1980s dancehall star Johnny P and the van’s disc jockey in charge of the CD player. The king himself was enthroned in the front passenger seat. I thoroughly enjoyed these long drives from Kingston to various venues around the island, often in the middle of the night. They were part of my field research on Yellowman, and I always relished the enroute entertainment provided by him. Give him an audience – even a few of us in a minivan – and the king would hold court. This usually included a rich array of off-colour jokes, ridiculous boasts and lively sparring with clever jibes and playful insults. He thinks of himself as a comedian, so it is natural that he enjoys cracking up an audience as much as he enjoys dominating a music stage.