A little over a year ago, Supa Dups, founder of Black Chiney Sound (and producer for Eminem, Bruno Mars and Rihanna, among others), uploaded the full catalog of the Miami DJ crew’s influential mixtape series to his Soundcloud page. Released on CD back when you had to purchase mixtapes by hand instead of downloading them for free, Black Chiney mixes were highly sought-after by dancehall enthusiasts at the time of their release in the early and mid 2000s. Renowned for their seamless blends of reggae vocals and hip-hop beats, they have taken on legendary status.
You probably could have found most of these mixes online already if you knew where to look, but hearing them all in one place offered a reminder that Black Chiney—Dups, Walshy Fire, Bobby Chin and Willy Chin—were the most influential U.S.-based sound system of their time, responsible for many of the changes that have occurred in dancehall during the subsequent years. Listening to the playful, comedic and eclectic mixes today, it’s easy to hear how they were an influence on Diplo, who has cited them as an inspiration for Major Lazer (This fact is probably also confirmed by Walshy Fire’s current role in the group.)
Here, Willy Chin—who recently dropped the first official Black Chiney soca mix, Uh Gosh!—breaks down Black Chiney’s most classic mixtapes.