Henry “Junjo” Lawes may be still strange to a handful of Jamaican music aficionados in the country.  He is one of the influential figures who have successfully worked together and gave a fantastic musical career to many famous names whose music we may still enjoy or even save in our daily playlists. From the likes of Linval Thompson, Yellowman, Barrington Levy, Eek-A-Mouse, Don Carlos, Cocoa Tea, to Billy Boyo and many more. He also plays an important role as one of the driving forces behind reggae music with its dancehall style.

Born in Waterhouse district, Kingston – Jamaica in mid 1960, Henry “Junjo” Lawes started his musical journey with The Grooving Locks trio in 1978. However, his call to be a man behind the screen is stronger than his call to be a performer. He then started as producer in 1979. With the support of the talented and innovative sound engineer Hopeton “Scientist” Brown and The Roots Radics as the backing unit. His early magic came from the collaboration with young Barrington Levy through his debut “Bounty Hunter”. At that time, Junjo still did not have his own studio, he was still doing all the production at Channel One Recording Studio.

During this heyday, he founded his musical imprint Volcano, which in the future also prospered as a sound system unit. Through Volcano, he continues to scout, nourishing and polishing many talented acts. The legendary single from Eek-A-Mouse entitled “Wa Do Dem” is one of his works (this unique story can be read in Kultur’s interview session with Eek-A-Mouse). Junjo was also an instrumental factor behind the musical career of Winston Foster, better known as the Yellowman in the 1980s. Not only that, through his ingenuity and sharp musical intuition, he has also pushed back a line of Jamaican music veterans to work, such as John Holt through “Police In Helicopter” and Johnny Osbourne with his “Ice Cream Love”.

This powerful producer tragically died on June 14, 1999 due to a shooting incident that occurred while he was driving in Harlesden, north west of London – England. The legacy of Henry “Junjo” Lawes is still with us today, he and his work is part of the history of Jamaican music in the world to this day.

Here are 10 masterpieces of Henry “Junjo” Lawes selected by the editor Kultur that taken from the compilation album “Reggae Anthology: Henry Junjo Lawes – Volcano Eruption”:

(Keyko, Sam)