Half Pint

UK 2014 press.
Up-and-coming DJ Half Pint was fresh out of the sound systems when he hooked up with Prince Jammy. The producer, a protege of King Tubby, had made his mark in the '70s with seminal dub remixes, but had since turned his attention to sound systems. The young DJ was to be his first foray into dancehall production, and the result was a string of hits across 1983-1984, which established both Half Pint as a star and Jammy as a premier dancehall force. Inevitably, a batch of these recordings were bundled up and released as the DJ's debut album, Money Man Skank, titled after one of his many hits. Its follow-up, One in a Million (released only in the U.K.), was also named for a Jamaican smash, and includes another group of Jammy-produced hits. Although the album pulls two of Money's tracks, fans will need both to complete the collection, as Money leaves out the big hits "One in a Million" and "One Big Ghetto." The Hi-Times Band slings the pulsating rhythms that drive the songs.