“Smoker Super”, Wayne Smith’s 1983 Album with King Jammy, Gets a Digital Reissue

“Smoker Super”, Wayne Smith’s 1983 Album with King Jammy, Gets a Digital Reissue

Following on from the underground success of his 1982 album Youthman Skanking, Wayne Smith teamed up with Prince Jammy (now known as King Jammy) once again at his studio in the ghetto of Waterhouse, Kingston, to deliver another top-ranking set of songs. The ensuing ten-track album, Smoker Super, released in 1983, captures the original Jamaican Dancehall sound in fine style.

Now, in 2025, VP Records and King Jammy proudly present the remastered reissue, which will be available on all digital and streaming platforms on the 3rd of October.

Recorded prior to the Digital Revolution, brought about by the titanic Under Me Sleng Teng in 1985 by Wayne Smith & Noel Davey, armed with a Casio MT-40 keyboard synthesiser at Prince Jammy’s, Smoker Super is in stark contrast to electronic tones that made the Sleng Teng riddim so popular globally. Featuring live instrumentation played by Kingston’s finest session musicians, the one-away riddims on Smoker Super are rich, deep, finely seasoned and perfectly balanced by Prince Jammy’s deft touch on Channel One’s legendary API mixing console.

These Dreader than Dread riddims are the perfect accompaniment to Wayne Smith’s youthful vocal tones. Barely 18 at the time of recording, these ten songs encapsulate the unmistakable sound of the “Waterhouse Style” or “Youthman Style,” a vocal approach rooted in the ghetto community, made popular by artists such as Yami Bolo, Junior Reid, Don Carlos, Michael Rose and more.

This new digital remastered edition preserves the original mixes by Prince Jammy in pristine digital quality and will be available on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.