Black Chiney is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n sound system based in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. It consists of four

Chinese Jamaicans Chinese Jamaicans are Jamaicans of Chinese ancestry, which include descendants of migrants from China to Jamaica. Early migrants came in the 19th century; there was another moment of migration in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the descendants of ea ...

Supa Dups Dwayne Chin-Quee, better known as Supa Dups, is a Jamaican record producer, a drummer, and selector based in Miami, Florida. He is a member of the Black Chiney sound system. His father is a second generation Chinese Jamaican, and his mother ...

, Bobby Chin, Willy Chin and

Walshy Fire Leighton Paul Walsh, better known by his stage name Walshy Fire, is a Jamaican American DJ, MC and record producer. He is part of the dancehall reggae-influenced group Major Lazer alongside fellow DJs Diplo and Ape Drums. Walshy Fire toured wi ...

. The

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

slang "Black Chiney" refers to this racial mix. Black Chiney often travels around the world as a sound system for

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s, concerts and other party venues. The quartet also participates in

sound clash A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. ...

es in their native Jamaica.

History

Before Black Chiney came to prominence, founding member Supa Dups (born Dwayne Chin-Quee) was a DJ at Miami's Power 96 radio station (

WPOW WPOW (96.5 FM) – branded Power 96 – is a commercial rhythmic top 40 radio station licensed to Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area, and much of surroundin ...

96.5) for two years, in his early teens. As Supa got older, he had an interest in music production. In fact, his aunt figured that he was so serious about becoming a producer, so she mortgaged her house in Miami and bought him an

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produc ...

MPC3000 The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modif ...

. Not long after, Supa began mixing

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

s with hip hop (mainly

Miami bass Miami bass (booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexually explicit l ...

). Bobby Chin (born Robert Lee) was a

selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

before he migrated to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the age of 21. He settled in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and was a selector for the sound system "Earthquake". After a successful stint as one of the top selectors in DC, Bobby Chin moved to Florida where he joined a

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

-based sound system called Poison Dart, of which Supa Dups was a member. Poison Dart travelled extensively throughout North America and the Caribbean. After Supa and Chin left Poison Dart, the two began collaborating and they produced many dancehall/hip-hop

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

s. In 1999, Supa Dups released the first mix CD entitled ''Black Chiney 1 - Enter The Dragon''. This was the first time the duo used the name Black Chiney, as they did not have a nickname at the time. The mixtape sold in large numbers, and it was also big in the Caribbean. When Miami's

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

(

WEDR WEDR (99.1 FM, "99 Jamz") is a radio station serving the South Florida region and licensed to Miami, Florida. WEDR has an unusually wide music selection for a mainstream urban-formatted radio station that ranges from typical hip-hop and R&B t ...

99.1) heard their mixtapes, he asked them to produce more. By the time a fifth volume mixtape was released by Supa Dups, Black Chiney was still known as a mix CD, and the mixtapes proved to be popular. In early 2001, the pair finally went public as Black Chiney. Black Chiney enjoyed much success in Jamaica as a result of the mixtapes, but in the summer of 2001, they also earned respect from the sound clashes they took part in. In sound clashes, Chin was the

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

who battled his opponents on stage, whereas Supa would play a riddim as the selector. In 2002, at an annual event in Jamaica dubbed Fully Loaded, the reigning "king"

Tony Matterhorn Tony Matterhorn (born Dufton Taylor on 13 March 1972) is a dancehall reggae deejay and sound system selector from Kingston, Jamaica. Matterhorn got his start in the sound system arena in the early 1990s, on Inner City Sound System first, then ...

lost the sound clash against Black Chiney. In a rematch later that year in Miami, Matterhorn would be defeated by Black Chiney once again. Since Black Chiney frequently tours around the world, they experienced some burnout. As a result, Supa and Chin recruited two new members to help them carry the load in 2003; Willy Chin and Walshy Killa. Willy Chin (born Warren Hoo) is actually the younger cousin of Supa Dups, and had about three years of prior experience as a selector.

(born Leighton Walsh) was mostly known for being the younger brother of

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

legend

Courtney Walsh Courtney Andrew Walsh OJ (born 30 October 1962) is a former Jamaican cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches. He is a fast bowler and considered one of the all-time greats, best ...

, until he became a member of Black Chiney. Walshy Fire was born in Miami and raised in Jamaica. As a youth, he traveled extensively, and it gave him an appreciation for other cultures. Walshy was formerly a selector based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, but now he shares duties as a selector for

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after t ...

and Black Chiney. In 2004, Supa Dups produced the first riddim under the group's newly formed Black Chiney Records. It was called ''Kopa'', and it proved to be extremely popular. Artists such as

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

Nina Sky Nina Sky is an American musical duo consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their self-titled debut album in 2004, was a success, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

and

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

used the riddim, and some of these versions became hit singles. The ''Kopa'' riddim continued to get major club play through 2005, and in 2006, Black Chiney released ''Higher Octane''. The newest riddim by Black Chiney is the ''Drumline/Timeline'', released in 2007. At 2007's Fully Loaded, Black Chiney spent their entire set insulting event organizer Sharon Burke, who did not pay them for their 2002 appearance. When Burke cut the group's set short, the crowd became unhappy and, ironically, had to be placated by Tony Matterhorn before the show could continue. This incident further proves the group's extreme popularity among Jamaican dancehall fans. Since Fully Loaded in 2007 Black Chiney continues to tour the world and Founder Supa Dups is now a Grammy Award-winning producer for his work with Eminem and was nominated for another Grammy with Bruno Mars. Supa Dups has also done work for the likes of Sean Paul, Rihanna, Snoop Lion, Mary J Blige Drake Tyga and Estelle to name a few. See (Supa Dups)

Discography

Riddims

*'' Kopa Riddim'' (2005) *''Higher Octane Riddim'' (2006) *''Drumline/Timeline Riddim'' (2007) *''Doctor Bird Riddim'' (2008)

References

External links

Black Chiney's official websiteBlack Chiney's MySpaceProduction by Black Chiney
{{Authority control Asian-American culture in Florida Caribbean-American culture in Miami Chinese-American culture Jamaican-American history Jamaican emigrants to the United States Jamaican people of Chinese descent Jamaican record producers Jamaican sound systems Musical quartets Record production teams