Featured In
ALBUMSolid GoldU-Roy
Albums by U-Roy
ALBUMTalking RootsU-Roy
ALBUMThe Aggrovators Present U RoyU-Roy
ALBUMKing Tubby v U RoyKing Tubby & U-Roy
ALBUMU-Roy Meets Mighty Diamonds at Channel 1 with Sly & Robbie & The Revolutionaries (feat. The Mighty Diamonds, The Revolutionaries & Sly & Robbie)U-Roy
ALBUMHeavy DutyU-Roy
ALBUMPray Fi Di PeopleU-Roy
ALBUMI Am the OriginatorU-Roy
ALBUMFoundation Skank 1971 - 1975U-Roy
ALBUMOld School DubsJoe Ariwa, Mad Professor & U-Roy
ALBUMHold On RastaU-Roy
U-Roy's Popular Music Videos
Man Next Door (feat. Santigold)
U-Roy
Stop That Train
U-Roy & Rygin King
Give Thanks and Praises to Jah (feat. U-Roy) [Rockers Mix]
Don Goliath
Artist Playlists
U-Roy Essentials
The pioneering deejay did more than “Wake the Town”—he shaped reggae and dancehall forever.
Artist Biography
Jamaican deejay U-Roy, who died at age 78 in early 2021, may not have been reggae's first practitioner of toasting—where performers sing and casually chat over a rhythm track—but his 1970 hits “Wake the Town” and “Wear You to the Ball” certainly helped popularize it. Those early recordings, among others, proved to be dancehall’s DNA, particularly as U-Roy stretched the sound even further on his key 1975 album Dread in a Babylon and collaborations with pioneering dub producer King Tubby. And as dancehall production moved to digital and became more compact, U-Roy’s voice only became an even more dynamic presence in the mix. These selections not only highlight U-Roy's indelible mark on all of reggae’s modern strains, but bring to light his influence on early hip-hop as well.
Hometown
Jones Town, Jamaica
Genre
Reggae