Daddy Screw

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Daddy Screw
Birth nameMichael Alexander Johnson
Born (1968-03-29) 29 March 1968 (age 56)
Kingston, Jamaica
GenresDancehall
Occupation(s)Deejay
Years active1984–present
LabelsVP
Steely & Clevie
Mad House

Michael Alexander Johnson (born 29 March 1968), better known as Daddy Screw, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s.

Biography[edit]

Johnson was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and first began to deejay while still a student at Vauxhall Comprehensive High School.[1] He released his first single ("Dimbo Bucket") in 1984 and worked on sound systems such as Black Stone.[1] He recorded "Madda Mampie" for Tuff Gong Records, and through Tuff Gong producer Tony Kelly he met Dave Kelly, who produced much of his later work, including several Jamaican hit singles.[1][2] Screw also toured as part of Kelly's 'Mad House Crew', and performance as part of the 'Champions In Action' tour with Tiger, Sanchez, and Terror Fabulous.[3] Two albums were released in the 1990s — Loverman (1993, VP) and Multiple Choice (1996, Steely & Clevie) — and he also appeared on the live album Mad House Crew Live, released in 1994 by French label Pipper.

Daddy Screw has also recorded collaborations and made guest appearances on tracks by several other artists including Terror Fabulous ("Broke Wine Butterfly"), Sharon Forrester ("Money Isn't Everything"), Tinga Stewart ("Dancehall Maniac"), Maxi Priest ("Heartbreaker"), Toyin Adekale ("Man Wid De Agony" and "Second to None") and Barrington Levy ("Girl I Like Your Style").[1]

Screw moved to Denver, Colorado in the United States to live. He headlined the summer concert in Downtown, Denver known as Reggae on the Mall with Aska Askelz Sounds, he also performed live at the Reggae On The Rocks Concert with Reggae pioneers the Legendary Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear, & the Jamaican reggae fusion band Third World. Maxi Priest, Prince Oret, Sire, Trini Daddy Christmas, and Aska Askelz Sounds. He ended up living in Aurora, Colorado for a few years before he returned to Jamaica in the 2000s, recording the single "Caribbean Girls" with Price is Right Oret Smith from Runaway Bay, Jamaica.[4]

He still resides in Denver, Colorado where in 2016 he was reportedly working on new material.[5]

Discography[edit]

  • Loverman (1993), VP
  • Multiple Choice (1996), Steely & Clevie
Live albums
  • Mad House Crew Live (1994), Pipper - with Terror Fabulous & Louie Culture

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Moskowitz, David V. (2006) Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33158-8, p. 78
  2. ^ "Crews control in the dancehall Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Gleaner, 3 March 2009, retrieved 25 April 2011
  3. ^ Thompson, Ben (1993) "The harder they come", The Independent, 18 April 1993, retrieved 2011-04-25
  4. ^ "Daddy Screw Returns Archived 12 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Gleaner, 2 July 2001, retrieved 25 April 2011
  5. ^ Jackson, Kevin (2016) "The return of Daddy Screw", Jamaica Observer, 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016