Country: Jamaica
Big Youth, born Manley Augustus Buchanan in 1949 in Trenchtown, Kingston, is a pioneering Jamaican deejay best known for his influential work in the 1970s. Before music, he worked as a diesel mechanic, developing his toasting skills on the job and earning the nickname “Big Youth.” Inspired by U-Roy, he became resident deejay for Lord Tippertone’s sound system by 1970, which brought him early exposure, though his first recordings for producers like Lee Perry and Jimmy Radway achieved little success. His breakthrough came in the early 1970s after collaborating with producer Augustus “Gussie” Clarke. Hits such as “The Killer,” “Tippertone Rocking,” and especially “S-90 Skank”—his first Jamaican number-one single—established him as a major force in reggae. Big Youth became known for his distinctive half-sung, half-chanted vocal style and striking visual image. His 1973 album Screaming Target is regarded as a classic, and during this peak period he dominated Jamaican charts while recording with top producers including Bunny Wailer, Joe Gibbs, and Yabby You. By the late 1970s, Big Youth began self-producing music and signed briefly with Virgin Records, but his popularity declined as reggae tastes shifted and digital rhythms emerged in the 1980s. Although his output slowed, he remained respected, appearing at Reggae Sunsplash and later enjoying a modest revival in the 1990s with socially conscious songs like “Free South Africa.” In the 2000s, he successfully collaborated with modern dub producers, reconnecting his classic roots sound with contemporary audiences and reinforcing his legacy as one of reggae’s original and most important deejays.
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