Eek-A-Mouse | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Ripton Joseph Hylton (1957-11-19)19 November 1957 (age 68) |
| Origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae,dancehall |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Ripton Joseph Hylton (born 19 November 1957), known artistically asEek-A-Mouse, is a Jamaicanreggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as asingjay.[a][1] He is known for pioneering his own style ofscatting, differing from the-thentoastingdeejays in the 1980s. Apart from his distinctive vocal style, Eek-A-Mouse has been noted for often wearing flashy and eccentric costumes during his performances.[2] In a 1985 interview, he explained: "Entertaining is not just singing and rapping to audiences. People want to see you in costume and dancing."[3]
Ripton Joseph Hylton was born inKingston, Jamaica. He attended college.
Hylton began his music career when he was in college, releasing tworoots reggae singles under his own name, which were produced by his mathematics tutor, Mr. Dehaney. These early works were influenced by the music ofPablo Moses.[1][4] Hylton worked for varioussound systems over the next few years and also released a few more singles. He adopted hisstage name in 1979 after betting on a racehorse of that name;[2] it was a nickname his friends had used for some time.[4][5][6] He began recording forJoe Gibbs in 1979, having a hit straight away with "Once a Virgin", now showing the influence ofRanking Joe,[1] and this was soon followed with "Wa-Do-Dem" (produced by Douglas Boothe), and "Modelling Queen", which began an association withLinval Thompson, who produced his debutBubble Up Yu Hip album.[4]
By the end of 1980, he was working with producerHenry "Junjo" Lawes, with whom he had big hits in 1981 with the likes of "Virgin Girl" and a recut "Wa-Do-Dem".[5] In 1981, he was the star of theReggae Sunsplash Festival, cheering audiences still mourning over the death of reggae iconBob Marley.[6] His association with Lawes led to a string of successful singles and albums, and in 1982 his hits included "Wild Like a Tiger", "For Hire and Removal", "Do You Remember", and "Ganja Smuggling". The same year he released his second album,Wa Do Dem.[6] The "Operation Eradication" single showed Hylton's serious side, the song inspired by the vigilante killing of close friend and fellow DJErrol Shorter.[4][6][7]Skidip was released before the year was out.
Further albums followed:Mouse and the Man (1983), produced by Linval Thompson, andMouseketeer (1984), produced by Junjo Lawes. Eek-A-Mouse also featured on several of the live dancehall albums from the era, including theAces International andLive at Skateland collections.[4] In the second half of the decade his popularity began to wane slightly, and he targeted the United States with theAssassinator album in 1985 (his first US release), produced by Anthony and Ronald Welch.[5][6] He also travelled to the United Kingdom to recordThe King and I the same year, the album targeted at therock crossover audience to which he had begun to appeal.[4]
His 1988 albumEek-A-Nomics saw him begin to establish himself with an international audience, spawning a club hit with "The Freak", and he was signed byIsland Records in 1989.[6] He returned to prominence with 1991'sU-Neek album, which continued the rock-oriented style, including acover version ofLed Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", and from which the hit single "You're The One I Need" was taken.[5][6] He went through a period of relative quietness before returning in 1996 with theBlack Cowboy album.[4]
He also has a performance in the 1991 gangster movieNew Jack City,[2] playing a drug-dealing Rastafarian named Fat Smitty.[4] That same year, he also had a performance inOut for Justice playing a chauffeur of a pimp.
Eek-A-Mouse was a regular performer atReggae Sunsplash, often teaming up with reggae duoMichigan & Smiley. An album of their 1982 performance was released by Sunsplash Records.[8]
He performed in Jamaica for the first time in eight years in August 2015 at the Marcus Garvey Festival inOcho Rios.[9]
Eek guests onRoger Kellaway's 1984 releaseCreation, contributing his voice to the title track. He was also featured onnu metal groupP.O.D.'s albumSatellite, lending his vocals to the rock-reggae track "Ridiculous." He can also be heard onOPM's album,ForThemAsses, on the track "Perfect Day." Eek-A-Mouse recorded a song with hip-hop recording artist Ditch, called "Smoke it up" (2007, released in 2009), which is featured on Ditch's CDPublic Intoxication. The song by Ditch and Eek-a-Mouse is featured on the Jack Herer documentary as well. Eek was featured with background vocals on the hit single "Khaki Suit", also featuringBounty Killer, from theGrammy-award-winning albumWelcome to Jamrock byDamian Marley.[10] Eek was also part of the recording of one of the most important German hip hop albumsBlauer Samt byTorch (German rapper). He can be heard on the track "Auf der Flucht" ("On the run"). He collaborated with Canadian bandBran Van 3000 in 2001 on the track "Go Shoppin'" on theirDiscosis album.
As of 2021, Eek-A-Mouse had lived inSweden with his partner since 2017.[2] He has eight children: five live in the US, and three live in Jamaica.[2]
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On 16 August 2008, Eek-a-Mouse was arrested on charges of rape and narcotics possession inDare County, North Carolina after a performance at the Port O'Call restaurant. Having fled the US, he failed to appear at his first hearing, so the court issued an "order to arrest".[11] with a US$1 million bond issued.[12] He was discovered to be in theNetherlands in 2010, but was unable to travel due to either an expired visa or thevolcanos in Iceland.[11]
On 21 November 2012, Eek-a-Mouse was found inParaguay without a proper visa and was eventually extradited to the US.[12] He was charged with felony rape, felony kidnapping, felony cocaine charges and misdemeanor relating to possession of marijuana.[13] In July 2013 he was released after a plea agreement, having pleadedno contest to misdemeanor charges for assault on a female and attemptedcrime against nature, with his time already spent in jail covering his sentence.[13] He was deported toJamaica.[11]
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