Little John

Born as John McMorris around 1970 in Kingston, Jamaica, in the West Indies, the artist first entered a studio alongside Captain Sinbad on the Youth In Progress imprint while still only nine years old. His high, delicate vocal accents stood in sharp relief against Sinbad’s deeper, rougher delivery, and during the 1980s his name appeared in the reggae charts with remarkable regularity. Widely regarded as the originator of dancehall singing, Little John developed a near-mythic facility for laying fresh lyrics across any rhythm or backing track—an uncommon skill in an industry that rarely tolerates retakes or punch-ins. He performed this feat consistently, riding the wave of the decade’s dancehall surge and attaining superstar status by age seventeen. His professional path began with Romantic Hi Fi before progressing through Killimanjaro, Gemini, and Volcano Hi Power, each engagement sharpening his abilities via an extended series of stage shows. At the same time he cut material for virtually every Jamaican producer of note, among them Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, Joseph ‘Joe Joe’ Hookim, George Phang, Jah Thomas, and Jammys, issuing innumerable sides across an ever-changing roster of labels. These days he records far less frequently than before and restricts live work to a handful of appearances. Subsequent successes on Exterminator demonstrated that his appeal did not rest solely on earlier achievements, while his distinctive gift, affable manner, and flair for storytelling continued undiminished.