Eek-a-Mouse
Ludicrous,
bizarre, and uniquely original, few DJs have made such a splash in the dancehall
scene than Eek-A-Mouse. An artist who in any other country would have been a
one-hit wonder, in Jamaica became a household name, invented a whole new vocal
style, sing-jay, flooding the airwaves with his catch phrases and going on to
become a respected toaster. Eek-A-Mouse didn't start out as a novelty act. He
was born Ripton Hilton in 1957, in Kingston, Jamaica, and his first foray into
the music world was as a cultural roots singer. While barely out of his teens,
and still in college, Hilton released two singles in the mid-'70s, "My
Father's Land" and "Creation," to an apathetic public. Not
discouraged, the young man continued plugging away, DJing for a variety of sound
systems, while also releasing occasional further singles, all under his real
name. To his friends, however, he was known as Eek-A-Mouse, a rather cruel jab,
for that was the name of the losing racehorse Hilton kept throwing his money
away on; of course as so often happens, the one time he declined to bet, was the
sole time the obstreperous equine won. The name stuck, and by 1979 the singer
decided a change was in order, and placed his musical fortune on this new
moniker. That year, Eek-A-Mouse went into the studio with producer Joe Gibbs,
and walked out with the sizeable hit "Once a Virgin." His follow-ups
in 1980, "Wa-Do-Dem" and "Modelling Queen," were equally
successful, while the Bubble Up Yu Hip album, produced by Linval Thompson,
proved that a growing share of Jamaicans were taken by the Mouse experience.
Before the year was out, the artist had joined forces with producer and remixer Scientist. Backed by the
Roots
Radics, Eek cut "Virgin Girl" and "Noah's Ark," before
having another go at "Wa-Do-Dem." The latter did the trick,
Eek-A-Mouse had arrived with a sound so unlike any other, equal parts singing,
DJing, and disconcerting Oriental-esque weirdness, that soon all of the island
was raving about the rodent. He was the toast of Reggae Sunsplash in 1981, his
bubbling lunacy providing a cathartic release to a festival otherwise in
mourning for Bob Marley. "Biddy biddy beng" roiled out across the
crowd, and the audience shouted it back as one, instantly cementing the
syllables as the catchprase of the new decade. Eek saw out the year with the
holiday hit, "Christmas A-Come." 1982 was the year of the Mouse, with
a litter of smash singles including "Wild Like a Tiger," "For
Hire and Removal," "Do You Remember," and "Ganja
Smuggling," and the seminal album Wa Do Dem, rounding up most of the hits
and more. With "Operation Eradication," Eek proved there was a
thinking man inside the mouse costume, on a single inspired by the tragic
vigilante killing of close friend and fellow DJ Errol Scorcher. A rabid
appearance at Reggae Sunsplash was also captured on tape, and released in 1984. Skidit
appeared before the year closed, and although it was less hit-driven than its
predecessor, was just as strong, nonetheless. More smash singles followed in
1983, while Mouse and the Man album proved to be another classic set. Again
produced by Linval Thompson, and backed by the Roots
Radics, this remains one of the artists' masterpieces. The following year's Mouseketeer,
produced by Junjo
Lawes, included several hits, while also taking on contemporary issues, and
finally answered fan's number one question on "How I Got My Name." In
1985, Eek began working with producers Anthony and Ronald Welch, for whom he
recorded the Assassinator album, which was his U.S. debut. It was a rather
depressing and violent affair thematically, although even the most serious
subjects have a comic irony under the artist's oddball delivery. Surprisingly,
or not, Eek's
international audience was found amongst the rock crowd. Which explains why The
King and I, also released this year, was recorded in the U.K. with producer
Cliff Carnegie. But it was 1988's wittily titled Eek-A-Nomics, that the DJ began
seriously courting this new audience. Bolstered by the hit single
"Freak," a version of the Adams Family theme song, Eek signed to the
Island label the following year, and even grabbed a role in the film New Jack
City. The U-Neek album was the pinnacle of cross pollination between reggae and
rock, highlighted by a cover of Led Zeppelin's own Hindenberg attempt at reggae,
"D'Yer Maker." The album also spawned the hit single "You're the
One I Need." Unfortunately, this was to be Eek's
first and last album for Island. It wasn't until 1996, that a new full-length,
Black Cowboy, appeared.
DISCOGRAPHY
Eeksperience,
Aug 2001 (no pic available)
Ras
Portraits
Released 1997
The Very Best Of Eek-A-Mouse
Released 1987
Wa-Do-Dem
Release 1982
Live at Reggae
Sunsplash
