By Stephanie Lyew – STAR Writer—
The 1990s signature sound of ‘Wife’, heard predominantly at wedding ceremonies, was written and recorded by Joseph Stepper.
No Jamaican wedding is complete without the signature sounds of ” You a fi him choice, fi him first prize, jump and shock out gyal, a you a di wife” – even if it is just a teaser of the one line, so the proud bride can flash her ring.
Rohan Williams is the artiste everyone grew to know as Joseph Stepper, who recorded the single Wife on the Geigy Rhythm, produced by Colin Fat Records in 1992, and became one of the most sought-after reggae-dancehall acts of the era.
“I never imagined Wife would be that big a tune; the inspiration come to me one morning and growing up right here [in Barbican] had a large impact on me doing music,” he told THE WEEKEND STAR. “Especially on Birdsucker Lane, there were nuff sound systems and great people around me, my friends, who push me to do the music. I would make my appearance at some party and perform on the sound.”
Making furniture was another one of his artistic callings. He said, “I was born to do furniture, it is my livelihood but the music remains a central part of my life.”
He said that hasn’t received bookings to perform the track live, “but I have more videos than I can count of weddings, people on YouTube dancing to it, and I am grateful that I have earned from it”.
“A lot of people see me, don’t know me as a musician or artiste; I usually wait until I get closer to clients to reveal that and some end up finding out,” he said.
Stepper has dedicated many of his lyrics to praising the opposite sex, like on the singles Girl A You Me Love, Bumper, and his most recent track, Stop Beat Woman. “I will forever be for the women,” he smiled.
He is invested in promoting Stop Beat Woman because he said “that message can never be too much”.
“I have recorded a lot. Nuff a di songs have not been released but it don’t matter when them record or release. I am even just now completing the video for this track. We shoot the majority of it and it’s for it to edit and put out there,” he said.
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