A Jamaican in New York

Recorded for Shinehead’s Sidewalk University in 1992 at multiple sessions that included Digital B Studio. Norman Cook produced the single, which rewrote Sting’s “Englishman in New York.” The track became the crossover hit Elektra had hoped for and turned into an anthem for expatriate Jamaicans in New York and beyond. It also gave Shinehead his only UK Top 40 single. It remains Shinehead’s best-known song and a durable cover of Sting’s original, still circulated as one of the defining reggae-fusion remakes of the 1990s. Its hook and concept have kept it in regular compilation and catalog rotation.