ENTITY · PERSON
Big Youth
Well supported
Big Youth (Manley Augustus Buchanan, born 19 April 1949) is a Jamaican deejay and toaster who became one of the most influential vocalists of 1970s roots reggae, known for a melodic, chanting, Rastafari-infused style. His 1973 debut album Screaming Target, produced by Gussie Clarke, set the benchmark for deejay albums and helped transform the deejay from party hype-man into a serious social and spiritual voice. He ranks alongside U-Roy, I-Roy and Dennis Alcapone among the foundational toasters whose approach influenced later dancehall and hip-hop.
At a glance
- Type
- person
- Confidence
- Well supported
- Era
- Open era →
Connections
Watch & listen
Big Youth - Screaming Target (Official Audio)
YOUTUBE · rights discovery only · performsOfficial youtube upload; embedded as a discovery-only reference pending editorial review.
View transcript · 107 lines
Automatic captions — a machine draft pending editorial review.
- 0:38No, no, no.
- 0:42What you say no?
- 0:45What you say no? Well, I say yeah.
- 0:48Well, I say yeah.
- 0:48Well, I say yeah. Cuz you should never say no.
- 0:51Cuz you should never say no.
- 0:51Cuz you should never say no. And I would do and say yeah.
- 0:54And I would do and say yeah.
- 0:54And I would do and say yeah. And I bet you don't say no.
- 0:58And I bet you don't say no.
- 0:58And I bet you don't say no. No, no, no.
- 1:02No, no, nothing at all if you would say.
- 1:06No, no, nothing at all if you would say. Come on down and let me
- 1:07Come on down and let me
- 1:07Come on down and let me hear what you say.
- 1:10hear what you say.
- 1:10hear what you say. And when you come to say
- 1:13And when you come to say
- 1:13And when you come to say to the show,
- 1:14to the show,
- 1:14to the show, to the show, to the show, yeah.
- 1:16to the show, to the show, yeah.
- 1:16to the show, to the show, yeah. Baby, come and say to you who may.
- 1:21And when you do it that,
- 1:23And when you do it that, look at that.
- 1:25look at that.
- 1:25look at that. When you do that, that would be great.
- 1:28When you do that, that would be great.
- 1:28When you do that, that would be great. Baby, baby,
- 1:30Baby, baby,
- 1:30Baby, baby, great.
- 1:33Baby, that you would appreciate.
- 1:38Baby, come on down and don't you be a
- 1:40Baby, come on down and don't you be a two and a little late.
- 1:44Baby, the rating is a thing that things
- 1:46Baby, the rating is a thing that things you go away with.
- 1:48you go away with.
- 1:48you go away with. You got to go and come.
- 1:51You got to go and come.
- 1:51You got to go and come. No, no, no.
- 1:54No, no, no.
- 1:54No, no, no. You should never be a fool.
- 1:56You should never be a fool.
- 1:56You should never be a fool. No, no, no, not at all.
- 2:00No, no, no, not at all.
- 2:00No, no, no, not at all. No, no, no, you should go to school and
- 2:02No, no, no, you should go to school and
- 2:02No, no, no, you should go to school and learn the rules.
- 2:04learn the rules.
- 2:04learn the rules. A little racy clauses all around as I
- 2:07A little racy clauses all around as I
- 2:07A little racy clauses all around as I would say.
- 2:09would say.
- 2:09would say. So you can go to a little red place.
- 2:13So you can go to a little red place.
- 2:13So you can go to a little red place. And so you can come together
- 2:15And so you can come together
- 2:15And so you can come together and civilize.
- 2:17and civilize.
- 2:17and civilize. Why baby won't you come on realize I
- 2:20Why baby won't you come on realize I
- 2:20Why baby won't you come on realize I would
- 2:21would
- 2:21would exactly what I mean.
- 2:23exactly what I mean.
- 2:23exactly what I mean. Ah!
- 2:25Ah!
- 2:25Ah! Huh!
- 2:27Huh!
- 2:27Huh! And I would really really tell you.
- 2:29And I would really really tell you.
- 2:29And I would really really tell you. You know.
- 2:31You know.
- 2:31You know. And I would really really
- 2:32And I would really really
- 2:33And I would really really say.
- 2:34say.
- 2:34say. Since you
- 2:37Tell you.
- 2:41I know.
- 2:43No, no.
- 2:47I want you to appreciate.
- 2:52Yeah.
- 2:53Yeah. And so my girl
- 2:55And so my girl
- 2:55And so my girl I want you to come on down and you could
- 2:57I want you to come on down and you could
- 2:57I want you to come on down and you could never
- 2:58never
- 2:58never Some of you could never understand as I
- 3:00Some of you could never understand as I
- 3:00Some of you could never understand as I would say.
- 3:03Wait.
- 3:05Wait. Yeah.
- 3:09Wait.
- 3:10Wait. Yeah, yeah.
- 3:11Yeah, yeah.
- 3:11Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
- 3:20And so on the top of the world
- 3:23And so on the top of the world baby got to move the world and I would
- 3:26baby got to move the world and I would
- 3:26baby got to move the world and I would No.
- 3:28And I would really really tell you,
- 3:30And I would really really tell you, girl.
- 3:31girl.
- 3:31girl. Oh, baby.
- 3:34Huh!
In stories
How the sound-system deejay's live talk-over became recorded art.
Story · Well supportedApprenticed to the sound: the deejay ladderEvery great Jamaican deejay of the 1960s and 70s served an apprenticeship on a named sound system.
Story · Well supportedFrom toasting to chatting: how the deejay took overThe Jamaican deejay grew from a hype-man behind the selector into the star of the record.
Story · ProbableQuiet names of the toasting eraBehind U-Roy, Big Youth and Dennis Alcapone stood toasters whose records shaped the style but whose names rarely make the standard histories.
