Mega Banton was still a student at St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in 1992 when he hit dancehall gold with Sound Boy Killing , a song that has rang the death knell in many sound system clashes. At 46, he is still on the prowl for another hit.

The veteran deejay plans to release several songs heading into Christmas. In true form, they will be serviced through sound system dances, the medium that broke Sound Boy Killing.

“Mi nuh really programme di radio, yuh nuh. Mi more like di underground ’cause most a my music is wey yuh call raw, aggressive dancehall,” he said.

Some of the songs Mega Banton is preparing for the market are No Way Out, Win, Hall of Fame, and Puppet. So far this year, his sole release has been the self-produced Golden Moment which he did with his son, deejay Status.

Raised in Waterford, Portmore, Mega Banton answered the roll call as Garth Williams at STATHS in the mornings and recorded in the evenings at the studio of Maurice “Jack Scorpio” Johnson. At one of those sessions in 1992 came Sound Boy Killing, which featured his Buju Banton-like growl.

Because Jack Scorpio owned a sound system, Sound Boy Killing became an instant hit at dances. It also earned the teenaged artiste a following in New York hip hop circles and tours of the United States and Europe with the Shocking Vibes Crew, Mad Cobra and Luciano.

At one stage, Mega Banton was signed to the major Sony International through Relativity Records for which he did the 1995 album, 1,000,000 Megawatts.

Not all his recent songs appeal to hardcore dancehall fans. A longtime fan of rocksteady giants Alton Ellis and John Holt, Mega Banton has experimented with lovers rock and One Drop beats.

“Di music change because of style, equipment an’ sound. One time di bassline an’ dem ting dey use to own di dancehall,” he said. “Now, yuh have Pro Tools which give everything a different feel, suh wi haffi change wid di pace.”