Yellowman

An iconic, albino reggae star, Yellowman helped lead Jamaican music into the post-Bob Marley era of the late 1980s and 1990s with an aggressive, raunchy, modern style of dancehall ragga. Raised in a Catholic orphanage in Kingston and socially shunned because of his condition, Winston Foster cut his teeth as a toaster for local sound systems in the 1970s before releasing debut album Mister Yellowman (1982) for British label Greensleeves when he became an unlikely global star. Known for his bragging machismo, tracks like Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt, Zungguzungguguzungguzeng and Yellowman Getting Married became big dancehall favourites, full of dynamic, sexual swagger which incorporated the dub rhythms of Lee 'Scratch' Perry with the gangsta rap pouring out of the US at the time. He worked with Sister Nancy, Sly & Robbie and Buju Banton and had his music sampled by hip hop stars KRS-One, 2Pac and Beenie Man, but became more philosophical on his later work Blueberry Hill (1994), Message To The World (1995) and One In A Million (1999) after suffering several bouts of skin cancer.

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