Billy Boyo (born Billy Theophilus Rowe, 21 September 1971 – 29 October 2000) was a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artist born in Kingston, Jamaica, who was arguably the most prolific of the early-1980s child DJs. He is most well known for his songs "One Spliff a Day" and "Billy Boyo in the Area".

Biography

Billy Boyo was still in his teens when he emerged in the early 1980s. In 1983, he (together with

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

and Ranking Toyan) went to London where he linked up with producer Silver Kamel. Along with the above noted "One Spliff a Day", Boyo also charted in 1982 with the

Scientist (musician) Hopeton Overton Brown (born 18 April 1960 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a recording engineer and producer who rose to fame in the 1980s mixing dub music as "Scientist". A protégé of King Tubby (Osbourne Ruddock), Scientist's contemporaries include ...

engineered and Henry Junjo Lawes-produced single, "Wicked She Wicked", backed by

Roots Radics The Roots Radics Band is a Jamaican reggae group, formed in 1978 by bass player Errol "Flabba" Holt, guitarist Eric "Bingy Bunny" Lamont and drummer Lincoln "Style" Scott. The nucleus of Holt and Lamont had previously worked together in the ...

. Boyo was relatively prolific in the early stages of his recording career, releasing a number of

Discomix A discomix, or simply a disco, is an extended reggae 12-inch single that typically features the vocal track followed by a dub version or a deejay version of the same track.Heath, ML (2010)Joe Gibbs: 12" Reggae Discomix Showcase Volumes 4 and 5, Pop ...

-backed and Scientist-engineered vocal and dub 12" singles in a comparatively short period from the early to mid 1980s, many on the

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, i ...

label, yet he only released one sound-clash styled album in his career when alive, mixed by Errol Thompson (audio engineer), and thus was arguably more well known at the time as a live MC. Throughout the early to mid-1980s, Billy Boyo recorded with some of the most respected and best selling conscious

Roots Reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the ho ...

vocalists and

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

ers of the period, amongst them

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

, Dennis Walks,

Linval Thompson Leval Alphonso Thompson (born 12 October 1954, Kingston, Jamaica), also known as Linval Thompson, is a Jamaican conscious roots reggae vocalist, dub musician and record producer. Biography Thompson was raised in Kingston, Jamaica, but spent ti ...

, MC Toaster Sammy Dread and

Anthony Johnson (musician) Roy Anthony Johnson (born 25 December 1957),Katz, David (2000) ''People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry'', Payback Press, , p. 301-3 better known simply as Anthony Johnson, is a Jamaican reggae musician who was a member of the gro ...

as well as featuring on popular releases by the then ascending

Dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

oriented mic

ers of the day, namely,

Little John (musician) John McMorris (born March 30 1965), better known as Little John, is a Jamaican dancehall musician best known for his 1980s recordings. Biography Born March 30 1965 in Kingston, Jamaica, Little John was so called as he began performing and reco ...

. Billy Boyo's musical career was short-lived and little was heard of him after the late 1980s, and Boyo died of a brain tumour on 29 October 2000, after a two-month-long struggle.

Discography

* ''DJ Clash Vol. 2'' (Little Harry & Billy Boyo; 1983) * ''Zim Zim'' (2002) Compilations * ''DJ Clash: 3 the Hard Way'' (Little Harry & Billy Boyo & Nicodemus; 2008)

External links

Billy Boyo at Roots ArchiveMyspace page with songs and videoclips of Boyo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyo, Billy 1969 births 2000 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians