Sly & Robbie
The Riddim Twins changed the feel of reggae from underneath it. Sly Dunbar’s drums and Robbie Shakespeare’s bass powered roots, rockers, dancehall, pop and electronic experiments for nearly half a century.
Drummer Lowell “Sly” Dunbar and bassist Robert “Robbie” Shakespeare began working together in the mid-1970s and quickly became Jamaica’s defining modern rhythm section. They drove Channel One’s rockers sound, backed Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru, and created Taxi Records as a production home for singers, deejays and their own experiments. Their reach is difficult to contain inside reggae. Grace Jones, Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Dylan, Sinéad O’Connor, No Doubt and countless Jamaican artists drew on the pair’s ability to change style without losing the pocket. They also embraced drum machines, synthesizers and sampling early, helping roots reggae cross into digital dancehall and wider electronic production. Robbie died in 2021 and Sly in January 2026; together they left one of recorded music’s largest rhythm-section legacies.