Eek A Mouse

Eek A Mouse

Ripton Joseph Hylton (born 19 November 1957), known artistically as Eek-A-Mouse, a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a singjay. He is known for pioneering his own style of scatting, differing from the-then toasting deejays in the 1980s. Apart from his distinctive vocal style, Eek-A-Mouse has been noted for often wearing flashy and eccentric costumes during his performances. In a 1985 interview, he explained: "Entertaining is not just singing and rapping to audiences. People want to see you in costume and dancing." Early life, family and education Ripton Joseph Hylton was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He attended college.

Career
Hylton began his music career when he was in college, releasing two roots reggae singles under his own name, which were produced by his mathematics tutor, Mr. Dehaney. These early works were influenced by the music of Pablo Moses. Hylton worked for various sound systems over the next few years and also released a few more singles. He adopted his stage name in 1979 after betting on a racehorse of that name; it was a nickname his friends had used for some time. He began recording for Joe Gibbs in 1979, having a hit straight away with "Once a Virgin", now showing the influence of Ranking Joe, and this was soon followed with "Wa-Do-Dem" (produced by Douglas Boothe), and "Modelling Queen", which began an association with Linval Thompson, who produced his debut Bubble Up Yu Hip album. By the end of 1980, he was working with producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes, with whom he had big hits in 1981 with the likes of "Virgin Girl" and a recut "Wa-Do-Dem". In 1981, he was the star of the Reggae Sunsplash Festival, cheering audiences still mourning over the death of reggae icon Bob Marley. His association with Lawes led to a string of successful singles and albums, and in 1982 his hits included "Wild Like a Tiger", "For Hire and Removal", "Do You Remember", and "Ganja Smuggling". The same year he released his second album, Wa Do Dem. The "Operation Eradication" single showed Hylton's serious side, the song inspired by the vigilante killing of close friend and fellow DJ Errol Shorter. Skidip was released before the year was out. Further albums followed: Mouse and the Man (1983), produced by Linval Thompson, and Mouseketeer (1984), produced by Junjo Lawes. Eek-A-Mouse also featured on several of the live dancehall albums from the era, including the Aces International and Live at Skateland collections. In the second half of the decade his popularity began to wane slightly, and he targeted the United States with the Assassinator album in 1985 (his first US release), produced by Anthony and Ronald Welch. He also travelled to the United Kingdom to record The King and I the same year, the album targeted at the rock crossover audience to which he had begun to appeal. His 1988 album Eek-A-Nomics saw him begin to establish himself with an international audience, spawning a club hit with "The Freak", and he was signed by Island Records in 1989. He returned to prominence with 1991's U-Neek album, which continued the rock-oriented style, including a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", and from which the hit single "You're The One I Need" was taken. He went through a period of relative quietness before returning in 1996 with the Black Cowboy album. He also has a performance in the 1991 gangster movie New Jack City, playing a drug-dealing Rastafarian named Fat Smitty. That same year, he also had a performance in Out for Justice playing a chauffeur of a pimp. Eek-A-Mouse was a regular performer at Reggae Sunsplash, often teaming up with reggae duo Michigan & Smiley. An album of their 1982 performance was released by Sunsplash Records. He performed in Jamaica for the first time in eight years in August 2015 at the Marcus Garvey Festival in Ocho Rios.

Collaborations
Eek guests on Roger Kellaway's 1984 release Creation, contributing his voice to the title track. He was also featured on nu metal group P.O.D.'s album Satellite, lending his vocals to the rock-reggae track "Ridiculous." He can also be heard on OPM's album, ForThemAsses, on the track "Perfect Day." Eek-A-Mouse recorded a song with hip-hop recording artist Ditch, called "Smoke it up" (2007, released in 2009), which is featured on Ditch's CD Public Intoxication. The song by Ditch and Eek-a-Mouse is featured on the Jack Herer documentary as well. Eek was featured with background vocals on the hit single "Khaki Suit", also featuring Bounty Killer, from the Grammy-award-winning album Welcome to Jamrock by Damian Marley. Eek was also part of the recording of one of the most important German hip hop albums Blauer Samt by Torch (German rapper). He can be heard on the track "Auf der Flucht" ("On the run"). He collaborated with Canadian band Bran Van 3000 in 2001 on the track "Go Shoppin'" on their Discosis album.

Personal life
As of 2021, Eek-A-Mouse had lived in Sweden with his partner since 2017. He has eight children: five live in the US, and three live in Jamaica.

Legal issues
On 16 August 2008, Eek-a-Mouse was arrested on charges of rape and narcotics possession in Dare County, North Carolina after a performance at the Port O'Call restaurant. Having fled the US, he failed to appear at his first hearing, so the court issued an "order to arrest". with a US$1 million bond issued. He was discovered to be in the Netherlands in 2010, but was unable to travel due to either an expired visa or the volcanos in Iceland. On 21 November 2012, Eek-a-Mouse was found in Paraguay without a proper visa and was eventually extradited to the US. He was charged with felony rape, felony kidnapping, felony cocaine charges and misdemeanor relating to possession of marijuana. In July 2013 he was released after a plea agreement, having pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges for assault on a female and attempted crime against nature, with his time already spent in jail covering his sentence. He was deported to Jamaica.

Albums (9)

Bubble Up Yu Hip
Thompson Sounds • 1980
Wa-Do-Dem
Greensleeves • 1981
Skidip !
Greensleeves • 1982
The Mouse & The Man
Greensleeves • 1983
Mouseketeer
Greensleeves • 1984
King And I
Original Sounds • 1986
Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Bubble Up Yu Hip Eek A Mouse Bubble Up Yu Hip LP Thompson Sounds 1980
Greensleeves Most Wanted Eek A Mouse Greensleeves Most Wanted GRELCD 612 CD Greensleeves 1980-84 2008
Wa-Do-Dem Eek A Mouse Wa-Do-Dem GREL 31 LP Greensleeves 1981 1982
Skidip ! Eek A Mouse Skidip ! GRELCD 41 CD Greensleeves 1982
Assassinator Eek A Mouse Assassinator RAS 3006 CD RAS 1983
The Mouse & The Man Eek A Mouse The Mouse & The Man GREL 56 LP Greensleeves 1983 1983
Live At Reggae Sunsplash Eek A Mouse & Michigan & Smiley Live At Reggae Sunsplash VSLP 8906 LP Sunsplash 1984 1983
Mouseketeer Eek A Mouse Mouseketeer GREL 65 LP Greensleeves 1984 1984
King And I Eek A Mouse King And I OSLP 1001 LP Original Sounds 1986 1985

Compilations (3)

Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
The Very Best Of Eek A Mouse The Very Best Of GREL 105 LP Greensleeves 1981-87 1989
Mouse A Mania Eek A Mouse Mouse A Mania RAS 30616 CD RAS 1983-85 1987
Eek-Ology Eek A Mouse Eek-Ology VPCD 5016 CD 17 North Parade 198X 2013

Credits & Appearances (6)

Musicians
Vocals 5
Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Greensleeves Most Wanted Eek A Mouse Greensleeves Most Wanted GRELCD 612 CD Greensleeves 1980-84 2008
Wa-Do-Dem Eek A Mouse Wa-Do-Dem GREL 31 LP Greensleeves 1981 1982
The Very Best Of Eek A Mouse The Very Best Of GREL 105 LP Greensleeves 1981-87 1989
The Mouse & The Man Eek A Mouse The Mouse & The Man GREL 56 LP Greensleeves 1983 1983
Live At Reggae Sunsplash Eek A Mouse & Michigan & Smiley Live At Reggae Sunsplash VSLP 8906 LP Sunsplash 1984 1983

Also Appears On (35)

Artist Album Release Type Label Rec Rel
Trojan Christmas Box Set Various Artists Trojan Christmas Box Set TJETD 142 CD Trojan 196X-8X 2003
Trojan Reggae For Kids Box Set Various Artists Trojan Reggae For Kids Box Set TJETD 262 CD Trojan 196X-8X 2005
The DJ's Reggae Greats Various Artists The DJ's Reggae Greats IRG 4 LP Island 1972-84 1985
From Dubplate To Download Various Artists From Dubplate To Download GREZCD 4011 CD Greensleeves 1977-07 2007
Forward Various Artists Forward GREL 60 LP Greensleeves 1977-82
Joe Gibbs Presents Dancehall Stylee Various Artists Joe Gibbs Presents Dancehall Stylee DBCDD 117 CD Doctor Bird 1979-81 2023
Can't Stop Us Now Linval Thompson & Friends Can't Stop Us Now ES 1011 CD Easy Star 1979-82 2002
The Biggest Dancehall Anthems Various Artists The Biggest Dancehall Anthems GREZCD 4101 CD Greensleeves 1979-82 2002
Greensleeves 12'' Rulers Various Artists Greensleeves 12'' Rulers GRELCD 608 CD Greensleeves 1979-83 2007
12'' Reggae Discomix Showcase Vol. 3 Joe Gibbs 12'' Reggae Discomix Showcase Vol. 3 VPCD 4161 CD 17 North Parade 197X 2009
Joe Gibbs Original DJ Classics Various Artists Joe Gibbs Original DJ Classics none LP Rocky One 197X
Reggae Blasters Various Artists Reggae Blasters NE 1299 LP K-Tel 197X-8X 1985
Reggae Dub Various Artists Reggae Dub LP 3375066 LP Wagram 197X-8X 2020
Scorchers From The Mighty Two Various Artists Scorchers From The Mighty Two VPCD 4130 CD VP 197X-8X 2008
Clarks In Jamaica Various Artists Clarks In Jamaica VPGS 7034 CD Greensleeves 197X-9X 2015
Late Night Movie Lui Lepki Late Night Movie DB2CD 149 CD Doctor Bird 1981 2024
Reggae Sunsplash '81 Various Artists Reggae Sunsplash '81 E1 60035 LP Elektra 1981 1982
Reggae Sunsplash '81 Various Artists Reggae Sunsplash '81 CD 60035 CD Elektra 1981 1992
Greensleeves 12" Rulers Linval Thompson & Friends Greensleeves 12" Rulers GRELCD 616 CD Greensleeves 1981-82 2008
The Volcano Eruption Various Artists The Volcano Eruption CD Sonic Sounds 1981-84 1993
Volcano Eruption Henry Junjo Lawes Volcano Eruption VPCD 4162 CD 17 North Parade 1981-85 2010
A Dee-Jay Explosion Various Artists A Dee-Jay Explosion CDHB 04 CD Heartbeat 1982
Dub Landing Vol: 2 Scientist & Prince Jammie Dub Landing Vol: 2 VPGS 7053 CD Greensleeves 1982 2018
Junjo Presents A Live Session With Aces International Various Artists Junjo Presents A Live Session With Aces International GREL 48 LP Greensleeves 1982 1982
Scientist Encounters Pac-Man Scientist Scientist Encounters Pac-Man GRE 2108 CD Greensleeves 1982 2016
RAS Records Presents A Reggae Christmas Various Artists RAS Records Presents A Reggae Christmas LAT 1217 LP Attic 1984 1984
Black & White Reggae Classics Vol 1 Various Artists Black & White Reggae Classics Vol 1 B&W 5001 LP Black & White 198X
Dancehall Various Artists Dancehall SJRCD 196 CD Soul Jazz 198X 2008
Reggae All Stars - Tuff Gong Music Various Artists Reggae All Stars - Tuff Gong Music LP 56 Hope Rd. 198X
The RAS Portrait Series Various Artists The RAS Portrait Series CD RAS 198X
The Rhythm King Prince Jammy & Various Artists The Rhythm King MPCD 003 CD Maximum Pressure 198X 2003
Total Recall - Volcano Vol 2 Various Artists Total Recall - Volcano Vol 2 VPCD 1190 CD VP 198X 1992
Trojan Eighties Box Set Various Artists Trojan Eighties Box Set TJETD 253 CD Trojan 198X 2005
Trojan Ras Reggae Box Set Various Artists Trojan Ras Reggae Box Set TJETD 152 CD Trojan 198X-9X 2004
Out Of Many Various Artists Out Of Many VPCD 1962 CD VP 19XX 2012
12 albums
6 credits
6 labels
1980 - 2008