Anyone who has followed the British dancehall beat for the past 20 years should be familiar with the sounds of Ras Demo, aka Demolition Man.

The veteran deejay’s song, Sekkle up The Score, is currently number one on the United Kingdom Official Reggae Chart.

Sekkle up The Score is produced by Fabrice ‘Frenchie’ Allegra, one of the UK’s leading dancehall/reggae producers.

Ras Demo had a strong seller in 1994 with the Jungle hit, Fire, but scoring a reggae song is even more special.

“It means a lot to me because reggae music is what I grew up on, but I got my first break when I voiced a Jungle song and that went to number 33 in the UK National Chart. To be recognised in the reggae industry is a dream come true,” he told the

Jamaica Observer.

That recognition has come after 21 years working the UK dancehall circuit and European club scene.

He was born Wayne Young in Clapton, East London, to a Jamaican father from Whitehorses, St Thomas, and a Barbadian mother.

Influenced by Bob Marley, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs, he followed his ‘old man’s footsteps and became a sound system selector. But Ras Demo’s initial breakthrough (as Demolition Man) came in New York in 1993 when he did a series of shows alongside Bounty Killer, Patra, Roundhead and Ninjakid.

Fire, produced by Terry T, gave him a national profile in the UK the following year.

The Lloyd ‘King Jammy’s’ James-produced Inna Mi Yard and Mr Beer are two of Ras Demo’s other popular dancehall/reggae songs, but Sekkle up The Score has given him his second mainstream hit.

The song was done last year for Frenchie’s Maximum Sound label which has produced hit songs by Mr Vegas, Wayne Wonder and Romain Virgo.

“I must say, I was never doing music to get a number one song. Just for the world to hear I an’ I words, sound an’ power,” said Ras Demo, who is also a studio engineer and producer.

He produced (and appears on) singjay Jah Mason’s song, Give it Time, for his Inna Mi Yard label.

— Howard Campbell