Еек-А-Маус: Ямайкалық регги музыкантының өмірі мен мансабы

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Eek A Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a "singjay". Eek A Mouse is well known for pioneering his own style of scatting, differing from the then toasting deejays in the 80s.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Eek A Mouse began his music career when he was in college, releasing two roots reggae singles under his own name, which were produced by his mathematics tutor, Mr. Dehaney. These early works were influenced by the music of Pablo Moses. He then went on to work for various sound systems over the next few years and also released a few more singles. He adopted the stage name "Eek A Mouse" in 1979, taking the name of a racehorse he always bet on; it was a nickname his friends had used for some time. He began recording for Joe Gibbs in 1979, having a hit straight away with "Once a Virgin", now showing the influence of Ranking Joe, Skidip was released before the year was out. Further albums followed with 1983 Mouse and the Man, produced by Linval Thompson, and 1984 Mouseketeer, again produced by Lawes. He also featured on several of the live dancehall albums from the era, including the Aces International and Live at Skateland collections. He performed in Jamaica for the first time in eight years in August 2015 at the Marcus Garvey Festival in Ocho Rios. Apart from his distinctive vocal style, Eek A Mouse has been noted for wearing often flashy costumes during his performances. In a 1985 interview, he explained: "Entertaining is not just singing and rapping to audiences. People want to see you in costume and dancing."

Eek guests on Roger Kellaway's 1984 release Creation, contributing his voice to the title track. He was also featured on nu metal group P. O. D.'s album Satellite, lending his vocals to the rock reggae track "Ridiculous." He can also be heard on OPM's album, ForThemAsses, on the track "Perfect Day." Eek A Mouse recorded a song with hip hop recording artist Ditch, called "Smoke it up" (2007, released in 2009), which is featured on Ditch's CD Public Intoxication. The song by Ditch and Eek a Mouse is featured on the Jack Herer documentary as well. Eek was featured with background vocals on the hit single "Khaki Suit", also featuring Bounty Killer, from the Grammy award winning album Welcome to Jamrock by Damian Marley.

On 16 August 2008, Eek a Mouse was arrested on charges of rape and narcotic possession. He fled the United States and an arrest warrant with a million dollar bond was issued. These charges were filed in Dare County, North Carolina after a performance at the Port O' Call restaurant. He failed to appear at the first hearing and was given a failure to appear charge, with the court issuing an "order to arrest". He was discovered to be in the Netherlands in 2010, but was unable to travel due to either an expired visa or the volcanos in Iceland. In July 2013 he was released after a plea agreement, having pleaded "no contest" to misdemeanor charges for assault on a female and attempted crime against nature, with his time already spent in jail covering his sentence. He was then deported back to Jamaica.