RIP Steely

The reggae music fraternity across the globe is mourning the loss of pioneering dancehall producer/musician Wycleffe 'Steely' Johnson, one half of the famous duo, Steely and Clevie. Steely, who was in critical condition at a New York hospital, died on Monday morning.

Doctors say he was suffering from pneumonia after having recovered from kidney complications in December last year. Long recognised as a trailblazer in the dancehall genre, Steely was well loved among his peers and proved an enduring influence on the lives of the many artistes with whom he came in contact. Such was his impact that one selector, Dwayne McKay, who was born and raised in Brooklyn and is of Trinidadian and Jamaican parentage, took on the moniker 'Steelie Bashment' after his idol Steely, who himself was a sound system selector on his popular Silver Hawk sound.