Shinehead
b. Edmund Carl Aitken, Kent, England. Although born in the UK, Aitken's family moved to Jamaica when he was two years old, then emigrated to New York in 1976 where he settled permanently. Counting among his influences a diverse array of artists including the Jackson 5 and Otis Redding, together with numerous reggae performers, Shinehead began singing at the age of 19, mixing the Jamaican toasting style with the more urbanized hip-hop which was developing in New York. After studying electrical and computer engineering his first musical activity came with Downbeat International in 1981, with Brigadier Jerry becoming a formative influence. He quickly developed a reputation for an astonishing range of dancehall skills; mimicking, singing, DJing, selecting, rapping and even whistling to great effect over Downbeat's stock-in-trade Studio One dub plates. It was there he gained his name: by virtue of his distinctive, closely cropped hairstyle. In late 1983 he joined forces with Claude Evans, who ran the African Love sound system-cum-label in Brooklyn. Evans managed to procure a rhythm track the Wailers had reputedly played for Bob Marley, who had died before using it. In 1984 Shinehead voiced Billie Jean/Mama Used To Say over two sides of the rhythm and scored a massive hit for African Love. The debut album, ROUGH AND RUGGED, which followed in 1986 showcased his remarkably varied talents with a blend of dancehall, ballads, rap and reggae that yielded further hits in the shape of Know How Fi Chat, Hello Y'All and Who The Cap Fits. That same year he guested on Sly And Robbie's popular Boops and was signed to Elektra in 1987. Their alliance has proved to be a disappointing one. The second album, UNITY, was merely the first set re-arranged (some by Run DMC's Jam Master Jay), and contained many of the same tracks, some of which were by then four years old. Increasingly new material was aimed at the US crossover market, and despite the success of Strive with his fading roots audience in 1990, his fortunes have taken a distinctly downward turn. SIDEWALK UNIVERSITY again assembled the services of assorted pop/rap/dance personnel in a bid for commercial reward, with the single Jamaican In New York selling reasonably well. It is a long way removed from the dazzling attributes shown on his earlier work, although he continues to make combative appearances on sound systems both in the US and Jamaica.