Cancelled - EEK-A-MOUSE

Ripton Hylton was born in November 19, 1957 in Kingston, Jamaica. He began his music career when he was in college, releasing two roots reggae singles under his own name. 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.He began recording for Joe Gibbs in 1979, having a hit straight away with Once a Virgin 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. 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. In 1981, he was the star of the Reggae Sunsplash Festival, cheering audiences still mourning over the death of reggae icon Bob Marley. 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. The Operation Eradication single showed Hyltons serious side, the song inspired by the vigilante killing of close friend and fellow DJ Errol Shorter. Skidip was released before the year was out.Further albums followed with 1983s Mouse and the Man, produced by Linval Thompson, and 1984s 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. In 1985 he targeted the United States with the Assassinator album in (his first US release), produced by Anthony and Ronald Welch. 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. 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. He returned to prominence with 1991s U-Neek album, which continued the rock-oriented style, including a cover version of Led Zeppelins Dyer Maker, and from which the hit single Youre The One I Need was taken.He went through a period of relative quietness before returning in 1996 with the Black Cowboy album. Eek-A-Mouse is a regular at Sunsplash and often teams up with reggae duo Michigan & Smiley. An album was issued of his performance in 1983. He performed in Jamaica for the first time in eight years in August 2015 at the Marcus Garvey Festival in Ocho Rios.