His albums As Raw as Ever (1992) and X-tra Naked (1993) both won Grammys. In the 1980s, Bobby Digital was at the forefront of dancehalls transformation from rhythm tracks built primarily on live studio performances to computerized and electronic beats. In the late 1990s he began to work with artists such as Morgan Heritage, Sizzla, Anthony B and Richie Spice. Sizzlas stunning Black Woman & Child (1997) epitomised this more complex format: although the vocalist often made hastily recorded albums with an array of collaborators, his second record with Dixon, Da Real Thing (2002), was considered of a high standard. One of the most respected producers of the dancehall era, Dixon transformed contemporary reggae several times over, enjoying tremendous international success with Shabba Ranks, Garnett Silk, Sizzla Kalonji and Morgan Heritage. [1] In Jamaican music, a popular rhythm track, or riddim, is often reused by other vocalists to create new songs, or versions. They offered space and propulsion to both the raw-voiced toasting of Shabba Ranks and the romantic crooning of singers like Sanchez, and they were widely imitated. His father was a carpenter, his mother a dressmaker. He sometimes hung a cassette recorder in a tree to capture the music. He was the producer of Sizzla's Black Woman and Child album of the late 1990s. After taking an overseas correspondence course, Dixon became a repair technician, fixing radios and televisions at the shop his brother established at the family home. [2], Dixon was born on March 11, 1961, the third of five children in the Waterhouse district of Kingston. [5][4][6] He explored styles such as dancehall, lovers rock and roots reggae. [7] In the 1980s, Dixon helped stylize the computerized phase of Jamaican music, as an accomplished digital engineer. Bobby Digital worked in the late 1990s with Morgan Heritage a vocal harmony group formed by children of the Jamaican reggae singer Denroy Morgan and with Sizzla, a singer and toaster who focused on sociopolitical messages. Although Dixons own output significantly slowed during the last decade, he continued to be in demand as a producer. [4], Dixon began working with King Jammy in Kingston in 1985. He was 59. His productions reintroduced live instruments, and working with him spurred even rough-hewed dancehall performers like Bounty Killer and Buju Banton to offer songs about faith. With a friend, he started a sound system, Heatwave, where he could play the newest tracks. His son Giark Dixon said the cause was kidney disease. He also formed his own sound system Heatwave.[9]. There he also met fellow sound system owner and upcoming producer Lloyd Prince Jammy James, who was establishing his own four-track studio at St Lucia Road in Waterhouse. He released fewer songs in recent years, even as variations on the Dem Bow riddim spread across pop worldwide. Bobby Digital: Jamaican reggae producer dies aged 59 Producer who worked with artists such as Shabba Ranks, Garnett Silk and Morgan Heritage was a Robert Dixon aka Bobby Digital died on May 21st due to kidney problems. An extensive collection of his work in two volumes, X-Tra Wicked and Serious Times, was issued by VP Records in 2018. Born in Kingston in 1961, Dixon was raised in the underprivileged community of Olympic Gardens, commonly known as Waterhouse, where his father was a carpenter and his mother a dressmaker. In a prolific career that yielded more than 800 released songs, he recorded influential hits with the gritty-voiced dancehall toaster (rapper) Shabba Ranks, the spiritually charged singer Garnett Silk, the vocal harmony group Morgan Heritage and the socially conscious artist Sizzla. Robert Dixon was born on March 11, 1961, in Kingston and grew up in the impoverished neighborhoods of West Kingston. He had released a truly impressive amount of music by 1993, most of it of a remarkably high standard, including albums by Glen Ricks and Leroy Smart, Gregory Isaacs, Cocoa Tea, Red Dragon, Sugar Minott, Josey Wales and Lieutenant Stitchie. Dixon was the in-house engineer at Jammys from 1984-88, helping to record Wayne Smiths ground-breaking Under Mi Sleng Teng, which changed Jamaican popular music overnight, shifting its focus to synthesisers and drum machine rhythms. In the 1990s, he began turning away from the aggressive machismo of dancehall toward the more thoughtful and idealistic messages of roots reggae. All rights reserved. Dixon died in Kingston on May 21, 2020 at the age of 59 following a kidney-related illness. Producer who worked with artists such as Shabba Ranks, Garnett Silk and Morgan Heritage was a maverick of the dancehall era, Tue 26 May 2020 10.34EDT But Bobby then got the chance to apprentice at the recording studio run by the producer and sound system owner King Jammy, and he worked his way up to chief recording engineer. But music was a passion from an early age and Waterhouse a hotbed of talent, leading Dixon and his friend Michael Jemison to launch a sound system called Heatwave in the early 1980s. Bobby Digitals productions were sparse, snappy and percussive, with sharply defined stereo syncopations. Last modified on Wed 27 May 2020 05.52EDT. This tune uses the Hot Milk Rhythm in a very progressive way. He was at the forefront of dancehalls transformation from rhythm tracks built primarily on live studio performances to computerized and electronic beats. The cause of death was kidney disease. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/arts/music/bobby-digital-dixon-dead.html [8], In the late 1980s and early 1990s he was the producer for works by Shabba Ranks, Cocoa Tea, Super Cat and Garnett Silk. His credits also include memorable recordings by Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Cocoa Tea, Capleton, Beenie Man and Chaka Demus, among a long list of Jamaican vocalists. Maturity brought that next level, Giark Dixon said. Dixon began engineering there with Al Campbell and Pat Kelly for hit-making producer Bunny Striker Lee, who later gave Dixon the nickname Digital due to his swift mastery of digital recording technology. He learned to repair radios, televisions and other equipment by reading textbooks that belonged to an older brother, Eric, who was studying electronics, and the brothers opened a repair shop. Bobby Digital was a top Jamaican producer who is known for his signature sound which has influenced many in the reggae music industry and beyond. He produced impressive albums for both of them in 1997 Morgan Heritages Protect Us Jah and Sizzlas Black Woman and Child and equally strong follow-ups, Morgan Heritages Dont Haffi Dread (1999) and Sizzlas Da Real Thing (2002). Bobby Digital started his own label, Digital B, in 1987, and in 1988 he opened his own studio, also named Digital B. The result was a broader musical palette that referenced the classic reggae of the past while striving for the new styles of the future, the wooden interior of Dixons studio allowing for maximum sonic texture. Bunny Lee, a producer who used the studio, nicknamed him Bobby Digital because he was so quick and diligent at learning to use new equipment. Dixons next discovery was Garnett Silk, whose powerful singing voice and Rastafari orientation helped shift the focus of dancehall back to its roots during a time when sexually suggestive slackness and violent gun talk dominated, typically delivered by hardcore rappers; Silks debut album, Its Growing (1992), heralded the arrival of a significant new talent. He reportedly succumbed to a kidney-related illness after he had gone to do his weekly dialysis treatment at the hospital. For the American hip hop producer also known as "Bobby Digital", see, "Admiral Tibet enjoys musical 'Serious Time, "Bobby Digital Dies at 59; His Reggae Rhythms Spread Worldwide", Going Digital A chat with one of dancehall's top producers, Wicked Times: VP Revisits the Legacy of Bobby Digital, "Dancehall Mourns The Death Of Legendary Producer Bobby Digital At 59", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobby_Digital_(Jamaican_producer)&oldid=966682355, All Wikipedia articles written in Jamaican English, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 8 July 2020, at 14:57. He was given his nickname "Bobby Digital" because King Jammy , whom he worked with in the mid-1980s, had begun experimenting with digital rhythms at around the same time. Reports are that Dixon began to feel ill and was eventually admitted and later died. Wayne Smiths 1984 hit Under Mi Sleng Teng, produced by King Jammy, is widely credited with inaugurating dancehalls digital era, and Bobby Digital easily adapted to the new approach, working with drum machines and loops. [3][10], Jamaican reggae and dancehall record producer, This article is about the Jamaican reggae producer. Robert Dixon (March 11, 1961 May 21, 2020), known as Bobby Digital, was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall producer. Along the way, Dixon mentored his two sons, who made tentative forays into production. In 1997, a connection with the Brooklyn, New York-based band Morgan Heritage yielded Help Us Jah, the first of many successful albums and a long musical partnership that elevated the group to become one of the most successful reggae acts of the new millennium. Robert Dixon, who as Bobby Digital became one of Jamaicas most influential producers, and whose production of the Shabba Ranks song Dem Bow became a cornerstone of reggaeton and 21st-century pop, died on May 21 in Kingston. Working with rhythm builders Steely and Clevie, Dixon achieved immediate and lasting success with Shabba Ranks, whose explicit, aggressive raps perfectly suited Dixons rugged productions. That project was part of Bobby Digitals turn away from the aggressive machismo of dancehall toward the more thoughtful and idealistic messages, and the more melodic approach, of roots reggae. Dixon began to broaden the backing tracks featured on his productions, grafting live horns, guitar, percussion and other acoustic instrumentation on to electronic drums and keyboard bass. Dixon produced more albums for Richie Spice, Anthony B, Morgan Heritage, Chezidek, Ras Shiloh, Louie Culture, LMS, Mikey Spice, and Norris Man. 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