Contents - Beth Lesser

was on top of the world. As reported in The Jamaican Observer, “He went
on to record with the American rap group, the Fat Boys and ink a deal with
Columbia Records, and was then at the height of his career. Back in 1994,
Tiger was not only a superstar dancehall deejay, but quite a rich one too. He
boasted a Mercedes S190 Benz and an Astra Chevy, in addition to his Ducati
and Honda 50 motorcycles. He was riding the Ducati 1100 superbike along
Hope Road on the fateful day when suddenly, crash, and then everything
went silent.” *
Tiger crashed his bike and suffered serious head injuries that kept him in
the hospital for an extended period and almost cost him his life. Tiger recovered,
but was left with a limp and a slurring of his speech that made going
back to his old profession problematic. Always a strong spirit, Tiger decided
to meet the challenge and began taking part in stage shows now and then,
as well as recording. To a certain extent, he succeeded. Malvo explains that
“He still can say the songs and him still funny. He can perform, but you not
going to see the same Tiger with the jumping. But he have this comedy thing
in him still.”
Tiger’s influence on the scene lived on. Other artists were picking up his
positively frantic performing pace. His style was energetic, bold and assertive.
And he wrote his fast paced lyrics to match the new minimalist computerized
rhythms. The use of preprogrammed keyboards, with their faster beat settings,
was contributing to the acceleration of reggae, and the madcap performances
of deejays like Tiger pushed the pace ahead into a full gallop.
fall of BlaCk STar
In 1986 and 1987, Black Star was going strong, competing with the top
sound in the big clashes, until it met the same fate that befell Volcano and so
many other sounds.
“Black Star went to the United States for a one month tour [playing
against] Downbeat and all the [other New York] sounds,” Malvo recalls. “After
the tour, when we ready to come back, most of the guys say them not going
to come back. You know, in those times, when people get a chance to go to
America, nobody want to come back home. The only person who came back
with us was Tiger. We got on the plane, I was looking around and I didn’t see
nobody. Danny Black Star [the owner], his brother, Earl Cunningham, Tanto
Irie, Danny Dread [the deejay] stayed.”
Artists easily disappeared into New York’s cavernous dancehall scene and
were never heard from in Jamaica again. “They see this type of life - those
times, when you go [to America], you find guys who want to give you everything.
They give you a lot of gifts. This thing is like, you say, ‘This is the real
deal, land of opportunity’, cause they say, ‘Yo, whe’ you a go back for?’” Malvo
explains. “Mostly in the ‘80s, a lot of guy who came to America didn’t go
* Tiger’s back in the music jungle, Balford Henry, The Jamaica Observer, May 07, 2007
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