Michael Alexander Johnson (born 29 March 1968), better known as Daddy Screw, is a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

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 ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s.

Biography

Johnson was born and raised in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, and first began to deejay while still a student at Vauxhall Comprehensive High School.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 78 He released his first single ("Dimbo Bucket") in 1984 and worked on

sound systems Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

such as Black Stone. He recorded "Madda Mampie" for

Tuff Gong Records Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard "T ...

, and through Tuff Gong producer Tony Kelly he met Dave Kelly, who produced much of his later work, including several Jamaican hit singles.Crews control in the dancehall
", ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

'', 3 March 2009, retrieved 25 April 2011 Screw also toured as part of Kelly's 'Mad House Crew', and performance as part of the 'Champions In Action' tour with

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

, Sanchez, and

Terror Fabulous Cecil Campbell (born 20 December 1974), better known as Terror Fabulous, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay, who had success in the 1990s. Biography Campbell was introduced to producer Dave Kelly after completing a course in electrical engineeri ...

.Thompson, Ben (1993)
The harder they come
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 18 April 1993, retrieved 2011-04-25 Two albums were released in the 1990s — ''Loverman'' (1993, VP) and ''Multiple Choice'' (1996, Steely & Clevie) — and he also appeared on the live album ''Mad House Crew Live'', released in 1994 by French label Pipper. Daddy Screw has also recorded collaborations and made guest appearances on tracks by several other artists including

("Broke Wine Butterfly"),

Sharon Forrester Sharon Forrester (born 1956) is a Jamaican reggae singer who had success in the 1970s and 1990s. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1956, Forrester was born into a musical family and began singing at an early age, singing in church choirs f ...

("Money Isn't Everything"),

Tinga Stewart Tinga Stewart (born Neville Stewart, c. 3 July 1950, Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer. Stewart won the Festival Song Contest three times, twice as a singer and once as a songwriter. Biography Stewart's career began in the late 1 ...

("Dancehall Maniac"),

Maxi Priest Max Alfred Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an Contemporary R&B, R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. ...

("Heartbreaker"), Toyin Adekale ("Man Wid De Agony" and "Second to None") and

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist from Clarendon, Jamaica. Career In 1977, Levy formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bla ...

("Girl I Like Your Style"). Screw moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

in the United States to live. He headlined the summer concert in Downtown, Denver known as Reggae on the Mall with Aska Askelz Sounds, he also performed live at the Reggae On The Rocks Concert with

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

Burning Spear Winston Rodney Order of Distinction, OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian movement, Rastafarian and one of the ...

, and

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

, Prince Oret, Sire, Trini Daddy Christmas, and Aska Askelz Sounds. He ended up living in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...

, for a few years before he returned to Jamaica in the 2000s, recording the single "Caribbean Girls" with Oret Smith.Daddy Screw Returns
", ''

'', 2 July 2001, retrieved 25 April 2011 He still resides in Denver, Colorado, where, in 2016, he was reportedly working on new material.Jackson, Kevin (2016)
The return of Daddy Screw
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016

Discography

Albums

*''Loverman'' (1993), VP *''Multiple Choice'' (1996), Steely & Clevie

Live albums

*''Mad House Crew Live'' (1994), Pipper - with Terror Fabulous & Louie Culture

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daddy Screw 1968 births living people Jamaican dancehall musicians musicians from Kingston, Jamaica VP Records artists