Eek-A-Mouse

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1957, Ripton Joseph Hylton adopted the name Eek-A-Mouse in the late 1970s when he began moving through the sound system scene and the networks of Jamaican reggae. Eek-A-Mouse belongs to the singjay deejay tradition, straddling toasting, singing and vocal improvisation, characterized by a nasal phrasing, melodic inflections and a marked use of onomatopoeia that runs through his tracks. His repertoire sits between roots reggae, dub and the early developments of dancehall. After early work tied to Joe Gibbs, Eek-A-Mouse also worked with Linval Thompson and Henry “Junjo” Lawes during a period when Jamaican production became drier and more rhythm‑centered. It was then that tracks like “Wa-Do-Dem” and “Ganja Smuggling” appeared, along with the albums Wa-Do-Dem (1981) and Skidip! (1982). The rest of his career extended this aesthetic with records such as Mouseketeer (1984), Assassinator (1985), Eek-A-Nomics (1988) and Black Cowboy (1996). Over the decades Eek-A-Mouse has continued to tour between Jamaica, North America and Europe, remaining associated with a vocal form of reggae whose delivery is immediately recognizable.