Today’s, Splash is dedicated to the ancehall genre. Through our guest contributors Clyde McKenzie, Ralson Barrett, Rory Gilligan, GT Taylor, and Dr Dennis Howard, we are looking at figures who established themselves as artistes, producers, and trendsetters.

I SHOULD point out that for me producers are people who have the right to license a work. We have had great musicians who have led recording sessions since the dawn of Jamaican music (Jackie Jackson, Ernie Ranglin and Jackie Mittoo to name a few). But although these men are responsible for assembling and arranging some of the greatest hits in Jamaican music, they would technically be deemed arrangers and even composers but would not be classified as producers.

Here are my Top 10 producers

Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee has directed numerous anthems including Better Must Come, Move Outa Babylon and The Gorgon.

Sly and Robbie: Great international success; worked with some of the greatest acts in different genres and still relevant.

Lloyd ‘King Jammys’ James: Man who has some of the most memorable recordings in reggae and dancehall including the transformative Sleng Teng. A pioneer in Jamaican music’s digital era.

Bobby Digital: His work with Sizzla, Shabba and Morgan Heritage, to name a few, speaks for itself.

Steely and Clevie: Worked with just about every act in dancehall. Produced countless hits.

Dave Kelly: Produced some of the biggest dancehall anthems during the 1990s including the Pepperseed and Joyride beats. His work with most of the leading figures of that period is the stuff of legend.

Tony Kelly: older brother of Dave. International hits Like Glue by Sean Paul showed his quality.

Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor: Consistent hitmaker despite less than 10 years in the business.

Donovan Germain: His catalogue is among the most extensive and impressive in dancehall.

Don Corleone: Has worked with a number of top acts to create memorable hits including Footprints by TOK and Alaine’s No Ordinary Love.