Eek-A-Mouse
by Jo-Ann GreeneLudicrous, bizarre, and uniquely original, few DJs have made such a splash in the dancehall scene than Eek-A-Mouse. An artist who in any other country would have been a one-hit wonder, in Jamaica became a household name having invented a whole new vocal style, sing-jay, flooding the airwaves with his catch phrases and going on to become a respected toaster. Eek-A-Mouse didnt start out as a novelty act. He was born Ripton Hilton in 1957 in Kingston, Jamaica, and his first foray into the music world was as a cultural roots singer. While barely out of his teens and still in college, Hilton released two singles in the mid-70s, My Fathers Land and Creation, to an apathetic public. Not discouraged, the young man continued plugging away, DJing for a variety of sound systems while also releasing occasional singles, all under his real name. To his friends, however, he was known as Eek-A-Mouse. A rather cruel jab, for that was t...