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Artist
Smiley Culture
12+ albums
reggaedancehallraggadubchill
about
Smiley Culture (real name David Emmanuel) was a British reggae singer and DJ. Although his period of fame and success was brief, he did produce two of the most critically acclaimed reggae singles of the 1980s. Emmanuel, born and raised in South London, is the son of a Jamaican father and South American mother. He was educated at Tulse Hill School. Prior to his recording career he worked as a DJ with the Saxon Studio International reggae soundsystem, where he met and worked with a number of other reggae artists, including Maxi Priest, Papa Levi and Tippa Irie. Signed to the London based reggae record label, Fashion Records, his first single "Cockney Translation" (1984) was a Jamaican's guide to the East End dialect - "Cockneys have names like Terry, Arfur and Del Boy/We have names like Winston, Lloyd and Leroy." It picked up considerable airplay on BBC Radio One but only reached the lower end of the UK Singles Chart. Simon Reynolds has often cited this song in his writings, arguing that it presaged the creation of a new hybrid accent in which white East Londoners would adopt many terms of black origin. Emmanuel had more success with his next single, "Police Officer", released towards the end of 1984. This was the supposedly autobiographical tale of how Emmanuel was arrested for the possession of cannabis, but then let off when the police officer recognised him as a famous reggae artist. In spite of the subject matter - and possibly because mid 1980s radio station bosses i
