The first Jamaican act to have three consecutive Top Five singles in Britain, Chaka Demus and Pliers operate in the classic Jamaican form of the DJ/singer combination: they are the most successful exponents of this Jamaican musical tradition that stretched back to the early Seventies and such artists as U Roy and Dennis Akapone. "For Every Kinda People" is the follow-up to their "Tease Me" album, a colossally successful record that played a large part in establishing Jamaican music as the most influential form of the 1990’s. It’s sales were ample tribute to the decision made by the redoubtable Sly and Robbie production team to take the duo under their
wing.

The Jamaican "combination" style, which features the DJ or rapper working in tandem with a singer, was given a further lease of life by Tinga Stewart and DJ Don Ninjaman with a series of substantial dancehall hits in the late eighties. It was in this time that both DJ Chaka Demus and the vocalist Pliers established their won individual reputations in dancehall; later they were to become renowned for their "Murder She Wrote" hit which tore down the dancehalls form Kingston to New York and London - it also marked their first chart success in foreign territories, enjoying a long stretch on the pop charts in the United States.

Chaka Demus (whose name is a tribute to veteran DJ Nicodemus) was born in Kingston, growing up in the Waterhouse district of the city. He cut his teeth with the Roots Majestic sound system and made his first record, "Increase Your Knowledge", at King Jammy’s Studio, followed by a hit "One Scotch" (recorded with Jammy’s superstar DJ Admiral Bailey) in 1986. By 1988 Chaka Demus was serious contender on the dance floor, with such hits as "Everybody Loves Chaka" on Black Scorpio, "Get Up" and in a duet with DJ, Yellowman – "Letter To Mummy and Daddy".

His success continued through the following year, notching up such hits as "Chaka on the Move" (recorded for producer Donovan Germain) and "Bring It To Me" (a duet with the veteran vocalist and DJ legend, Scottie). Chaka also recorded for such producers as Olive Shaw, Jah Life, Pickout, Whitty and Ini Kamoze.

During this period he became aware of Pliers, a young singer songwriter who - like many teenage Jamaican artists - had been moulding his soulful styling on American artists like Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfile. Pliers" voice is as smooth as silk. A natural contrast to Chaka Demus" rough, tough tonsils.

Pliers also cam to prominence with King Jammys. He then recorded for Winston Riley, King Tubby’s Black Scorpio and Coxsone Dodd during the late Eighties, before moving to Donovan Germain’s Penthouse label, for whom he recorded the hit ?"Snake In The Grass". "Bam Bam", a big hit for Pliers in 1992, was a re-working of the 1966 Toots and the Maytals classic. Plier’s version was based on Sly Dunbar’s hip hop lick, a killer rhythm in the dancehalls.

It had taken several years of Chaka Demus and pliers admiring each other’s output before they come upon the idea of joining forces. The notion came from a mini-tour in which they both involved, traveling through West Indian neighborhoods in the north-eastern United States. On their return to Jamaican, they decided to keep the duo intact.
What sparked the collaboration? It was simple, Chaka Demus recalls: "I just
approached him and said "Hey, let’s do some songs". I felt that Pliers was a good singer and I?m a good DJ, so why not? The first song they recorded, "Gal Wine" for producer Ossie Hibbert, was a number one hit on the London reggae charts, followed by the singles "Brenda" (for DJ producer Rankling Joe) and "Rough This Year" (for Blackbeard)-


Their reputation in the dancehalls was cernented by "Murder She Wrote", a tune Pliers first had written and recorded as a solo artist back in 1986. The lyrics were slightly cryptic, inspired by a relationship he had had with a girlfriend. But it needed some re-working to make it fly on the
dance floor; so Pliers refined his vocals, while Chaka Demus put pen to paper, writing his unique brand of hard-edged lyrics, the manner in which they have collaborated ever since; Sly Dunbar produced this latter hit version again employing his inventive hip hop lick.

In the summer of 1993, Chaka Demus and Pliers hit the UK nation charts with "Tease Me". A classic, outrageously addictive piece of pop dancehall, "Tease Me" entered the Top Ten a week after going on sale. Although it never hit the number one slot, it remained in the Top Ten for nearly three months.

This achievement was emulated by the record’s follow-up, the Curtis Mayfield anthem, "She Don’t Let Nobody", another top Five hit in the autumn of 1993.

The duo’s third hit came with the release of "Twist And Shout" in December. The single was a radical re-working of the Isley Brothers/Beatles classic and also featured singer Jack Radics and Sly and Robbie’s Taxi Gang. "Twist and Shout" hit number one in the first chart of 1994. Other chart success that year came in the shape of "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Gal Wine" and, "Murder She Wrote", all of which made the UK top Thirty.

In January 1994, the "Tease Me" album, which featured all six hit singles, six original songs and respectful nods to George Clinton ("One Nation Under A Groove", and "Toots" and the "Maytals" (Bam Bam) also went to number one in the UK.