Huford Brown (born 8 June 1956,

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 ...

), better known by the stage name U Brown, is a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

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 released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984.

Biography

Brown grew up in Bond Street in Kingston, living two doors away from

Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid CD (21 July 1915 – 1 January 1975) was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner. He ran one of the most popular sound systems of the 1950s called Reid's Sound System, whilst Duke himself was known as The Troja ...

's ''Treasure Isle'' studio.Interview by Peter I, October 2003
/ref> Heavily influenced by

U-Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

, but also citing

Big Youth Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican deejay, mostly known for his ...

Dennis Alcapone Dennis Alcapone (born Dennis Smith, 6 August 1947, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a reggae DJ and producer. Career Smith initially trained as a welder and worked for the Jamaica Public Services.Interview with Aad van der Hoek in London, England, ...

Prince Jazzbo Linval Roy Carter (3 September 1951 – 11 September 2013), better known as Prince Jazzbo, was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay and producer. Career Born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, and raised in Kingston, Linval Roy Carter (who would ...

and

I-Roy Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s. Biography Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...

as influences, Brown began his career on the ''Silver Bullet'' sound system in the early 1970s, moving on to ''Sound of Music'' and replacing U-Roy on the ''King Tubby's Hi-Fi'' system in 1975.Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, Brown was initially given a chance to record by Winston Edwards and then

Yabby You Vivian Jackson (14 August 1946 – 12 January 2010), better known as Yabby You (or sometimes Yabby U), was a reggae vocalist and producer, who came to prominence in the early 1970s through his uncompromising, self-produced work. Biography Jac ...

, and had a local hit in 1976 with "Starsky and Hutch", which was followed by a series of albums produced by

Bunny Lee Edward O'Sullivan Lee OD (23 August 1941 – 6 October 2020), better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee, was a Jamaican record producer. He was known as a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to Trojan Records i ...

. He was signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

in the late 1970s, releasing two albums on their ''Front Line'' label. The Virgin contract enabled Brown to travel frequently to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where he performed with the ''Unity Hi Power'' sound system. Brown returned to prominence in 1982, with "Tu Sheng Peng" (a version of

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

's "If This World Were Mine"). Brown set up his own ''Hit Sound'' label in 1977 as an outlet for his work as a producer. In the 1980s, Brown relocated to

Miami 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 ...

, returning to Jamaica in 1990.Dougan, John, "

allmusic biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation Blood & Fire released a compilation of Brown's 1970s work in 1997, raising his profile and leading to new recordings, working with

Jah Warrior Jah Warrior is a United Kingdom roots reggae/ dub production team, record label, sound system, and musical group centred on Steve Mosco. Overview Mosco first got interested in reggae as a teenager in Manchester. He started attending sound sy ...

among others.

Albums

*''The Originator'' (1976) Carib Gems (Nuroy and U-Roy) *''Satta Dread'' (1976) Klik *''London Rock'' (1977) Third World *''Revelation Time'' (1977) Live & Love *''Mr Brown Something'' (1978) Virgin/Front Line *''Weather '' (1978) Gorgon, also released as ''You Can't Keep a Good Man Down'' (1978) Virgin/Front Line *''Repatriation'' (1979) Hit Sound *''Hotter Reggae Music'' (1982) Tad's, also issued as ''Tu Sheng Peng'' *''Raver's Party'' (1982)

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

*''DJ Confrontation'' (1982) CF (with

Peter Yellow Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

) *''Jam It Tonight'' (1983) CSA, also issued as ''Black Princess'' (1999) Dressed To Kill *''Superstar'' (1984)

Culture Press Culture Press is an independent record label from UK specialized in Jamaican music. LP Discography *VSLP5000 - Bob Marley - Interviews *VSLP5001 - Clint Eastwood - The Best Of Clint Eastwood - 1984 *VSLP5002 - Dillinger - Blackboard Jungle - ...

*''Train To Zion'' (1997) Blood & Fire (compilation) *''3 The Roots Way'' (2001) Krescendo (with

Ranking Joe Ranking Joe Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s. Biography Jackson was initially inspired towards a musical career by h ...

and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

) *''Rougher Than The Rest'' (2003)

*''Still Standing Strong'' (2002) Hit Sound *''Rastafari Bible'' Belle *''Hit Sounds From Channel One'' (1999) Tabou 1 (compilation) *''The Original D.J.'' Sonic Sounds *''U Brown's Hit Sound'' (2007) Roots (compilation)

References

External links

U Brown at Roots ArchivesRebel Base Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, U 1956 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians