U-Roy
The deejay who made talking over records sound like a lead art form. U-Roy did not invent toasting, but his 1970 Treasure Isle hits changed the status of the Jamaican deejay almost overnight.
GO DEEPER
Ewart Beckford learned his craft on Kingston sound systems, moving through Dickie’s Dynamic, Sir George the Atomic and Coxsone before becoming the main deejay on King Tubby’s Hometown Hi-Fi by the late 1960s. There he worked over exclusive dubplates and learned how to leave room for the singer while making the record feel newly alive. With producer Duke Reid in 1970, “Wake the Town,” “Rule the Nation” and “Wear You to the Ball” occupied the top of the Jamaican charts. “Version Galore” followed in 1971. That run changed recording economics and opened studio doors for a generation of deejays including Big Youth, I-Roy and later dancehall stars.
Where the history is argued
- Count Machuki and other earlier microphone men predate U-Roy. Do not use “inventor of toasting” as a factual label.
How they stand with the others
U-Roy’s revolution was in refinement, recording and mass popularity, not in being literally the first person to toast.
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Last checked 1 September 2026