Don Yute: Still Rocking The Mic

In several of his interviews back then, Sean Paul credited Don Yute with introducing him to hardcore dancehall fans. They share similar middle-class upbringing and a love for artistes like Super Cat and Shabba Ranks.

Don Yute never made it as big as Sean Paul, but he is still rocking the mic. His latest song is ‘Cry For The World’, a spiritual track released in August. It is produced by Joshua Manning, whose relatives are members of The Abyssinians, one of reggae’s seminal groups.

“The message behind the song is that no matter how much we have acquired or how confident or certain we think we are about destiny, legacy or financial gain, in life the Almighty Jah/God makes the final decision,” said Don Yute. “So, we should be grateful for Jah’s mercy.”

‘Cry For The World’ is the follow-up to ‘Upstream’, Don Yute’s collaboration with neo-roots singer I-Wayne. Its spiritual feel is much different from ‘Loving Excess’ and ‘You Own di Man’, songs that announced him to the dancehall nation over 30 years ago. The former is a 1994 collaboration with Wayne Wonder on producer Dave Kelly’s hot ‘Pepperseed’ riddim.

Dancehall fans did not know how to identify Don Yute initially. But once he got established, he set the pace for artistes and producers from middle-class Jamaica, including Sean Paul and Jeremy Harding, who produced ‘Who Am I’ (‘Zim Zimma’) by Beenie Man.

“Don Yute’s biggest contribution to that era was being the first artiste from what they call uptown Jamaica that represented as a hardcore dancehall MC amongst all the biggest names at that time, so it influenced more artists from that area of Jamaica to start doing it,” he said.

Although he has achieved much in a lengthy career, Don Yute is unfazed when people box him in a particular era.

“I think dancehall from the ‘90s is special and timeless because the quality, context and content in the songs were more for the people that loved music, and they could identify who the artiste singing the song by their signature voices,” he said. “That made the vibe of the music stick with them like a part of their life and not just a trend for the moment.”

(Photo contributed)