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Eek-A-Mouse

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Eek-A-Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a "singjay".[a][1] Eek-A-Mouse is well known for pioneering his own style of scatting, differing from the-then toasting deejays in the 80s.

Eek-A-Mouse
Eek-A-Mouse performing in 2019 in Leuven, Belgium
Eek-A-Mouse performing in 2019 in Leuven, Belgium
Background information
Birth nameRipton Joseph Hylton
Born (1957-11-19) 19 November 1957 (age 67)
OriginKingston, Jamaica
GenresReggae, dancehall
Years active1975–present

Biography

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Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Eek-A-Mouse began his music career when he was in college, releasing two roots reggae singles under his own name, which were produced by his mathematics tutor, Mr. Dehaney. These early works were influenced by the music of Pablo Moses.[1][2] He then went on to work for various sound systems over the next few years and also released a few more singles. He adopted the stage name "Eek-A-Mouse" in 1979, taking the name of a racehorse he always bet on; it was a nickname his friends had used for some time.[2][3][4] He began recording for Joe Gibbs in 1979, having a hit straight away with "Once a Virgin", now showing the influence of Ranking Joe,[1] and this was soon followed with "Wa-Do-Dem" (produced by Douglas Boothe), and "Modelling Queen", which began an association with Linval Thompson, who produced his debut Bubble Up Yu Hip album.[2]

By the end of 1980, he had linked up with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes, with whom he had big hits in 1981 with the likes of "Virgin Girl" and a recut "Wa-Do-Dem".[3] In 1981, he was the star of the Reggae Sunsplash Festival, cheering audiences still mourning over the death of reggae icon Bob Marley.[4] His association with Lawes led to a string of successful singles and albums, and in 1982 his hits included "Wild Like a Tiger", "For Hire and Removal", "Do You Remember", and "Ganja Smuggling". The same year he released his second album, Wa Do Dem.[4] The "Operation Eradication" single showed Hylton's serious side, the song inspired by the vigilante killing of close friend and fellow DJ Errol Shorter.[2][4][5] Skidip was released before the year was out.

Further albums followed with 1983 Mouse and the Man, produced by Linval Thompson, and 1984 Mouseketeer, again produced by Lawes. He also featured on several of the live dancehall albums from the era, including the Aces International and Live at Skateland collections.[2] In the second half of the decade his popularity began to wane slightly, and he targeted the United States with the Assassinator album in 1985 (his first US release), produced by Anthony and Ronald Welch.[3][4] He also travelled to the United Kingdom to record The King and I the same year, the album targeted at the rock crossover audience to which he had begun to appeal.[2]

His 1988 album Eek-A-Nomics saw him begin to establish himself with an international audience, spawning a club hit with "The Freak", and he was signed by Island Records in 1989.[4] He returned to prominence with 1991's U-Neek album, which continued the rock-oriented style, including a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", and from which the hit single "You're The One I Need" was taken.[3][4] He went through a period of relative quietness before returning in 1996 with the Black Cowboy album.[2]

He also has a performance in the 1991 gangster movie New Jack City playing a drug-dealing Rastafarian named Fat Smitty.[2] That same year, he also had a performance in Out for Justice playing a chauffeur of a pimp.

Eek-A-Mouse was a regular performer at Reggae Sunsplash, often teaming up with reggae duo Michigan & Smiley. An album of their 1982 performance was released by Sunsplash Records.[6]

He performed in Jamaica for the first time in eight years in August 2015 at the Marcus Garvey Festival in Ocho Rios.[7]

Apart from his distinctive vocal style, Eek-A-Mouse has been noted for wearing often flashy costumes during his performances. In a 1985 interview, he explained: "Entertaining is not just singing and rapping to audiences. People want to see you in costume and dancing."[8]

Collaborations

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Eek guests on Roger Kellaway's 1984 release Creation, contributing his voice to the title track. He was also featured on nu metal group P.O.D.'s album Satellite, lending his vocals to the rock-reggae track "Ridiculous." He can also be heard on OPM's album, ForThemAsses, on the track "Perfect Day." Eek-A-Mouse recorded a song with hip-hop recording artist Ditch, called "Smoke it up" (2007, released in 2009), which is featured on Ditch's CD Public Intoxication. The song by Ditch and Eek-a-Mouse is featured on the Jack Herer documentary as well. Eek was featured with background vocals on the hit single "Khaki Suit", also featuring Bounty Killer, from the Grammy-award winning album Welcome to Jamrock by Damian Marley.[9] Eek was also part of the recording of one of the most important German hip hop albums Blauer Samt by Torch (German rapper). He can be heard on the track "Auf der Flucht" ("On the run").

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Eek-A-Mouse performing in 2019
 
Eek-A-Mouse performing in 2006

On 16 August 2008, Eek-a-Mouse was arrested on charges of rape and narcotic possession. He fled the United States and an arrest warrant with a million dollar bond was issued.[10] These charges were filed in Dare County, North Carolina after a performance at the Port O' Call restaurant. He failed to appear at the first hearing and was given a failure to appear charge, with the court issuing an "order to arrest".[11] He was discovered to be in the Netherlands in 2010, but was unable to travel due to either an expired visa or the volcanos in Iceland.[11]

On 21 November 2012, Eek-a-Mouse was found in Paraguay without a proper visa and was eventually extradited to the US.[10] He was initially charged with felony rape, felony kidnapping, felony cocaine charges and misdemeanor relating to possession of marijuana.[12] In July 2013 he was released after a plea agreement, having pleaded "no contest" to misdemeanor charges for assault on a female and attempted crime against nature, with his time already spent in jail covering his sentence.[12] He was then deported back to Jamaica.[11]

Discography

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Eek-A-Mouse with band performing in 2006
Studio albums
  • Bubble Up Yu Hip (1980), Greensleeves
  • Wa-Do-Dem (1981), Shanachie
  • Skidip! (1982), Shanachie
  • The Mouse and the Man (1983), Shanachie
  • Assassinator (1983), RAS
  • Mouseketeer (1984), Greensleeves
  • The King and I (1985), Original Sounds/(1986), RAS
  • Eek-A-Nomics (1988), RAS
  • U-Neek (1991), Mango
  • Black Cowboy (1996), Explicit
  • Eeeksperience (2001), Coach House
  • Mouse Gone Wild (2004), Sanctuary
  • Eek-A-Speeka (2004), Greensleeves
  • Eekziled (2011)
  • Put Food On The Ghetto Youth Table (2022), Irie Ites
Live albums
  • Live At Reggae Sunsplash (1983), Sunsplash (with Michigan & Smiley)
  • Live in San Francisco (2006), 2B1
Compilations
  • Mouse-A-Mania (1987), RAS
  • The Very Best Of (1987), Greensleeves
  • Ras Portraits (1997), RAS
  • At His Best (1998)
  • The Very Best Of Vol.2 (2003), Shanachie
  • Most Wanted (2009), Greensleeves
  • Ganja Smuggling (2009)
  • Reggae Anthology: Eek-Ology (2013), VP

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Eek-A-Mouse often softly disregards notions of himself being a deejay & singjay in live-performances, especially during his prime in the 80s.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Thompson, Dave (2002) Reggae & Caribbean Music, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6
  3. ^ a b c d Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Greene, Jo-Ann "Eek-A-Mouse Biography", allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
  5. ^ Lesser, Beth (2008) Dancehall: The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture, Soul Jazz, ISBN 978-0-9554817-1-0, p.37
  6. ^ "Eek A Mouse* / Michigan & Smiley – Live At Reggae Sunsplash". Discogs.com. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  7. ^ Campbell, Howard (22 November 2015). "Eek-A-Mouse in make-over mode". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  8. ^ Snowden, Don (August 1985). Berens, Jessica (ed.). "FLASH: Fishbone; Meat Puppets; Eek-A-Mouse; Wendy Chambers; Krush Groove; Wolrd Beat; Who is Elizabeth Daily?". SPIN. New York. p. 10. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ^ Gardner, Claudia (25 June 2020). "'It's Gonna Be Real Dancehall,' Damian Marley Is Executive Producer For Bounty Killer's First Album In 18 Years". Dancehall Mag. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Crime Blotter 201211301439057852" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Lay, Russ (4 August 2013). "Details emerge in singer Eek-A-Mouse's plea deal". The Outer Banks Voice. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Eek-A-Mouse is a free man", Jamaica Observer, 30 August 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013
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