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Grown Folks Music

06:00 09:00

Background

Daddy Ernie

Daddy Ernie was born in London to Jamaican parents. His father was a renowned sound system operator in the Caribbean community, so music was very much a staple within his household.

When he was a teenager he got together with his brother and some close friends to establish his own sound system: President Downbeat. Not only did this bring him kudos it provided an invaluable insight into what it really took to become a top operator and selector.

Ernie’s infatuation with the latest imports from Jamaica was born and nurtured under the King Trojan sound system, which was associated with the all powerful Trojan Record company, the leading reggae label in the UK at the time.

However, Hawkeye Records in Harlesden, North West London, was the place where everything really came together. In the early 1980s it was at the forefront of reggae music, and at the centre of it alongside Hawkeye International Sound System, was Daddy Ernie.

Daddy Ernie was involved with LWR, widely regarded as the UK’s first Black music station. Shortly after he had a brief stint with Time FM before hitting the big time with the first five-day-a-week reggae programme outside Jamaica. His show called Super Jam was born on Choice FM radio at the beginning of the 1990s.

Ernie’s entertaining and informative interviews with top reggae artists from Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minot and Freddie McGregor to Shaggy and Sean Paul have helped him to achieve cult status with his fans. His skills as a radio presenter have grown over the years and as a result he has hosted ‘International Night’ at Sumfest in Jamaica and was the main host for Jamaica’s 50th anniversary celebrations in London. During his yearly trips to Jamaica he presented shows transmitted by Choice FM in London and also took part in one of the island’s most prestigious awards ceremony with Richie B.

When he’s not hosting his show Superjam on Vibes FM, Daddy Ernie is a DJ in some of London’s top clubs and also in Europe and USA.

Superjam can now be heard onboard British Airways & Iberia Airlines as part of there inflight entertainment. The best Reggae/Dancehall in the skys.