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Shinehead | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edmund Carl Aiken |
| Born | (1962-04-10)10 April 1962 (age 62) Kensington, England |
| Genres | Reggae,reggae fusion,dancehall,hip hop |
| Instrument | Vocalist |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Elektra Records, African Love Records |
Edmund Carl Aiken (born 10 April 1962 inKent, England),[1] better known asShinehead, is a British Jamaicanreggae singer/toaster/rapper.
He began his music career by performing for different New York City reggaedancehallsound systems in the 1980s, most notably Tony Screw's Downbeat the Ruler, based inThe Bronx.
His recording debut was in 1986 on the African Love Musicindependent record label with "Who the Cap Fits (Let Them Wear It)" from the albumRough & Rugged. In his early years,Jeff Buckley led his group on guitar and lent a hand with backing vocals. He appeared onSly and Robbie's 1987 album,Rhythm Killers.[2]
Shinehead was signed to a recording contract byA&R representative Raoul Roach withElektra Records in 1988, and remained with the label until 1995.
His best-known single is thecover version ofSting's "Englishman in New York", retitled as "Jamaican in New York" (1993). It reached No. 30 on theUK Singles Chart in April 1993.[3] The single featured on theSidewalk University album.
He is largely credited as being one of the original acts to crosship-hop withreggae music,[4] now known asreggae fusion, with songs such as "Try My Love" in 1992.[5] Shinehead's vocal talent can be heard across various tracks on theUnity (1988) andThe Real Rock (1990) albums. His rapid deejay chat style can be heard on tracks such as "Cigarette Breath", "Gimme No Crack" and "Do It with Ease". Shinehead's melodic,singjay approach is present in songs such as "Strive", while he brings more hip hop flavor in tracks including "Chain Gang". "Chain Gang" was the first video to be shown during a regular season episode ofYo! MTV Raps, in 1988.
Shinehead is still active. He was part of the yearly Jamrock cruise in 2015. The same year, he played at the CES in Las Vegas. He has had success with his sound system, Kingston 12.
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7] | AUS [8][9] | BEL (FL) [10] | FRA [10] | GER [10] | NZ [10] | SWE [10] | |||
| "Try My Love" | 1992 | — | 193 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Jamaican in New York" | 1993 | 30 | 97 | 34 | 17 | 31 | 5 | 21 | Sidewalk University |
| "Let 'Em In" | 70 | 153 | — | — | — | 13 | — | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
