Wayne Smith grew up in the Waterhouse area of Kingston, Jamaica. He performed with sound systems and began recording in 1980 at age 14, initially working with producer Prince Jammy, his next door neighbour, who produced his debut album Youthman Skanking (1982) and the 1985 follow-up Smoker Super. His 1985 recording of "(Under Mi) Sleng Teng", is generally regarded as the beginning of ragga style reggae. The rhythm was a pattern found on a Casio MT-40 keyboard and is based on the riff from Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else", and the lyrics inspired by Barrington Levy's "Under Mi Sensi". Although there are a number of conflicting stories about how it was first found, the commonly accepted view is that Wayne Smith and Noel Davy discovered it. Smith had further hits with "Come Along" which used the Stalag riddim, and "Ain't No Meaning in Saying Goodbye". In the history of Jamaican popular music, ‘Under Mi Sleng Teng’ is a true milestone. The song's release in 1985 kick-started a new genre and changed the island's culture almost overnight. And it was not only Jamaica that was shaken by Sleng Teng's groundbreaking digital bass line. Drawing reggae closer to the production values of US hip-hop, the track catalysed an exchange of ideas that would soon spread even further afield.
