Sleng Teng
A cheap Casio pattern, a Wayne Smith vocal and King Jammy’s studio turned into a 1985 earthquake. Sleng Teng made computerized riddims impossible for Jamaican dancehall to ignore.
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Wayne Smith and musician Noel Davey built “Under Mi Sleng Teng” around a preset pattern on a Casio MT-40 keyboard, then took it to producer King Jammy. When the tune broke in 1985, producers rapidly voiced the riddim and the dancehall economy tilted hard toward digital production. Its importance is easier to defend than a neat “first ever” claim. Other Jamaican artists and producers were already experimenting with electronic and computerized rhythms, and Anthony Red Rose has long argued that his “Tempo,” recorded at King Tubby’s, preceded Sleng Teng. What Sleng Teng unquestionably became was the public detonation point.
Where the history is argued
- Calling Sleng Teng the literal first digital dancehall riddim is too absolute. “Tempo” and other electronic experiments complicate that claim.
How they stand with the others
Studio influenceSleng Teng did not invent dancehall; it helped make computerized riddims a dominant production reality.
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Last checked 1 September 2026