Yellowman

Winston Foster was abandoned by his parents and grew up in the Maxfield Children's Home and the Catholic orphanage Alpha Boys School in Kingston, and was shunned due to having albinism, which was not typically socially accepted in Jamaica.[1][4] Alpha Boys School was known for its musical alumni.[5] In the late 1970s Yellowman first gained wide attention when he finished second (to Nadine Sutherland) in the 1978 Tastee Talent Contest.[1] Like many Jamaican deejays, he honed his talents by frequently performing at outdoor sound-system dances, prominently with Aces International.[1][6] He had success as a recording artist, working with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes.[1] In 1981, after becoming significantly popular throughout Jamaica, Yellowman became the first dancehall artist to be signed to a major American label (Columbia Records).[7]

His first album release was in 1982 entitled Mister Yellowman followed by Zungguzungguguzungguzeng in 1983 earning instant success. Yellowman's sexually explicit lyrics in popular songs such as "Mad Over Me" boasted of his sexual prowess, like those of other reggae singers/deejays, earned Yellowman criticism in the mid-1980s.[8] Yellowman appeared in Jamaican Dancehall Volcano Hi-power 1983 which featured other major dancehall musicians such as Massive Dread, Josey Wales, Burro Banton and Eek-A-Mouse.[8]

Yellowman proclaimed, "I never know why they call it slackness. I talk about sex, but it's just what happens behind closed doors. What I talk is reality."[9]

He had success in 1987 with a version of "Blueberry Hill", that topped the charts for several weeks in Jamaica. Yellowman had met Fats Domino where he performed on the island earlier in the decade, and Domino had presented him with a copy of his version.[10]

By the mid-1990s, Yellowman released socially conscious material, rising to international fame along with singers such as Buju Banton. Yellowman became the island's most popular deejay. During the early 1980s, Yellowman had over 40 singles and produced up to five albums per year.[8]

He re-invented himself with his 1994 album Prayer, which stepped away from the slackness that gave him his initial fame.[8] His latest albums are New York (2003), Round 1 (2005), and No More War (2019). Yellowman was also a featured guest vocalist on the Run-DMC track "Roots Rap Reggae".[11] Yellowman continues to perform internationally with his Sagittarius Band, and has toured through places such as Nigeria where he retains a following of fans, as well as Spain, Peru, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Britain, France, Kenya, the United States and Canada. He also featured on OPM's 2004 album, Forthemasses.

In 2018, it was announced that he would be awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) by the Jamaican government.[1]

Foster's daughter Kareema followed him into a career in music.[12]

The instrumental for Yellowman's 1982 "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng", the "Diseases" rhythm by "Junjo" Lawes, has been sampled and imitated repeatedly since its original release. The original version of this rhythm was performed by Alton Ellis for a song called "Mad, Mad, Mad" produced by Coxsone Dodd in 1967. Coxsone Dodd had already released two dub cuts, "Talking Dub" and "Lusaka", plus a 1980 cut by Jennifer Lara, "Hurt So Good." This rhythm came to be known as the 'Diseases' rhythm after Michigan and Smiley recorded their song, Diseases, with Henry Junjo Lawes in 1981.

"Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" was remade by Beenie Man and released on July 3, 2020. Yellowman said of the release, "I wish somebody else did do Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, maybe Shaggy or Sean Paul….Me nuh even hear it."[16]

The vocal melody of "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" has also been sampled heavily in various reggae and hip hop songs.

Timeline:[17]

• Bonehead, "Zungguzungguguzungguzeng" (see also, Live at Aces version, w/ Fathead) (1982)
• Sister Nancy, "Coward of the Country" (1982)
• Frankie Paul, "Alesha" (1984)
• Toyan, "Hot Bubble Gum" (1984)
• Cocoa Tea, "I Lost My Sonia" (1985)
• Super Cat, "Boops" (1985)
• BDP, "Remix For P Is Free" (1987)
• BDP, "Tcha Tcha" (1988)
• Nice & Smooth, "Nice & Smooth" (1989)
• Nice & Smooth, "Dope on a Rope" (1989)
• K7, "Zunga Zeng" (1993)
• KRS-One, "P Is Still Free" (1993)
• Us3, "I Got It Goin' On" (1993)
• Buju Banton, "Big It Up" (1993)
• Ninjaman, "Funeral Again" (1994)
• Bounty Killer, "Kill Or Be Killed" (1994)
• Sublime, "Greatest Hits" (1994)
• Just My Imagination w/Sista Sensi (2013)
• Frosty the Dopeman w/Sista Sensi
• Buju Banton, "Man a Look Yu" (1995)
• Junior M.A.F.I.A. (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.), "Player's Anthem" (1995)
• Sublime, "Roots of Creation" (1995)
• 2Pac, "Hit 'Em Up" (1996)
• Black Star, "Definition" (1998)
• Mr. Notty, "Sentencia de Muerte" (1998)
• Dead Prez, "It's Bigger than Hip-Hop" (2000)
• Beenie Man, featuring Wyclef Jean, "Love Me Now" (2000)
• Nejo, track 14 (DJ Joe's Fatal Fantasy 1)(2001)
• Joe Budden, "Pump It Up" (2003)
• Tego Calderón, "Bonsai" (2003)
• Jin, "Learn Chinese" (2004)
• Vybz Kartel, "Tight Pussy Gyal" (2004)
• P.O.D., featuring Matisyahu, "Roots in Stereo" (2006)
• White Rappers, "One Night Stand" (2007)
• Just My Imagination w/Sista Sensi (2013)
• Frosty the Dopeman w/Sista Sensi (2013)

• Yellowman official website
• Yellowman at AllMusic