U Roy, who passed away on February 18, 2021, was a Jamaican reggae deejay, also known as The Originator, Hugh Roy, or Daddy U Roy.

His musical career began in 1961 when he became a DJ for various sound systems. He worked with King Tubby during the dub experimentation phase. With U Roy as his DJ, King Tubby's sound system became extraordinarily popular, and U Roy achieved fame. He first recorded "Dynamic Fashion Way" in 1969. He later worked with Lee Perry, Peter Tosh, Bunny Lee, and Lloyd Daley.

In 1970, Jamaican singer John Holt noticed U Roy's technique. Working with Duke Reid, U Roy's fame grew, particularly with a series of landmark singles, including "Wake the Town" and "Wear You to the Ball." These two tracks, along with "Rule the Nation," reached the top three of the Jamaican charts for 12 weeks in 1973.

Although he was not the first Jamaican deejay to record (Sir Lord Comic and King Stitt preceded him), U Roy, who was the first to produce hits, was at the origin of the explosion of the deejay style in the 1970s. This style then became dominant in reggae from the 1980s to today (approximately 70% of current Jamaican vocal artists are deejays compared to only 30% singers); this deejay reggae style is considered one of the fathers of rap (for the vocal part).

U Roy's success continued throughout the 70s and his King Sturgav sound system continued to reveal new DJs until the early 80s.

More information:

New Musical Express Pioneering Jamaican artist U-Roy has died (nme.com)

Rolling Stone U-Roy, Reggae Artist and Toasting Pioneer, Dead at 78 - Rolling Stone

Things to see and listen to:

DREAD IN A BABYLON

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