‘Sleng Teng‘, the frenetic riddim that has driven countless hit songs, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. 

To commemorate that milestone, an all-star album featuring songs on the legendary beat will be released soon.

That album will be part of The King Jammy Legacy Project, a series saluting Lloyd ‘King Jammy’ James, who produced the ‘Sleng Teng‘ riddim.

‘Under mi Sleng Teng‘ by late singer Wayne Smith introduced the computerised riddim in late 1985.

Jack Reuben, King Jammy’s manager, did not name any of the artistes who recorded songs for the album, but hinted that, “It reads like a dream team.”

After ‘Under mi Sleng Teng’s remarkable success, a flurry of songs were recorded on the riddim, many of them hits. Among them are ‘Pumpkin Belly‘ by Tenor Saw, ‘Buddy Bye‘ by Johnny Osbourne and Anthony Red Rose’s ‘Unda mi Fat Ting‘.

While noting that songs like The Bloodfire Posse’s ‘Rub A Dub Soldier‘ utilised computer programming before the ‘Sleng Teng‘, veteran musician Cleveland “Clevie” Browne acknowledged the latter’s far-reaching impact.

“Because it was made on a Casio keyboard, the ‘Sleng Teng‘ showed us what was conducive to small  productions, it was more economical than recording at a studio. That’s when Steely and myself said, ‘maybe we should go to Jammy’s,” Clevie recalled.