Joseph Stepper’s ‘Wife’ gets makeover
IN 1992 Joseph Stepper rode charts with the top 10 song Wife. Thirty years later, the deejay has re-recorded it as a collaboration with D Fancey.
Titled Still Wife, it is recorded on an updated version of the Giggy rhtyhm, called Art A Dancehall rhythm. The song is produced by New York-based 360 Degree and was released July 8 via Brit Lake Records.
“Wife is one of those iconic songs in dancehall music. Although it was released 30 years ago it is still a party favourite. I’m confident that this new version of the song will also make a big impact anywhere in the world where dancehall music is played,” Stepper told the Jamaica Observer.
He recalled how the original version came about.
“How I got the song was through a vision — I woke up singing the song one morning. I recorded the song at Bobby Digital studio in Kingston. Producer Colin Fat called me to come and voice on the big bad Giggy riddim; Steely from Steely and Clevie was there as well. He was the one working with Colin Fat, teaching him the business, and gave him a cut off the riddim. He was the only person Steely gave that beat. Singing Sweet (When I See You Smile) and Simpleton (Coca Cola Bottle Shape) had already recorded their songs on the riddim,” recounted Stepper.
Stepper, who is originally from the Birdsucker Lane area of Barbican in St Andrew, lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He subsequently released other songs including Bumpa, Wanted List and Hold Up Your Head, but none were as massive as Wife.
“Wife changed my life completely and it also made me a household name. Prior to Wife I had put out other songs but Wife took it to a higher realm of music — I got to do a lot of shows in Jamaica and overseas,” said Stepper.
He believes there is little respect for him and many of his contemporaries.
“There’s a tendency to label 80s and 90s dancehall artistes as old artistes, and I think it’s very disrespectful. We deserve more respect than that because we laid the foundation for the youths who are out there now. We did all the hard work to make dancehall music popular internationally,” said Joseph Stepper.
