Honouring 40 years of Steely & Clevie
Published:Saturday | September 6, 2025 | 12:09 AM
Steely & Clevie, the iconic production duo of Wycliffe ‘Steely’ Johnson and Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne, will be honoured at this year’s Grammy Certificate Ceremony for their outstanding contributions to reggae and dancehall. They are set to receive a Gold Disc in recognition of their work on Dawn Penn’s timeless hit You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No), which they produced in 1994. The track was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry in May 2022, having sold more than 400,000 copies in the UK.
“This recognition is truly a testament to the decades of work Steely and I dedicated to the music. To be honoured alongside other unsung heroes who have helped build this industry is incredibly meaningful. For me, the event is poised to be a bittersweet moment, as I wish my musical partner, Wycliffe ‘Steely’ Johnson, was here to share in this celebration. His genius and vision are a part of every riddim we created. This honour is also for him, as well as all the artistes, engineers, and musicians who trusted our sound to take reggae and dancehall to the world,” said Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne.
Along with the Gold Disc, Steely & Clevie will also receive multiple Grammy certificates, recognising their key contributions to:
Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock (2004); Beenie Man’s Art and Life (2001); Wayne Wonder’s No Holding Back (2004); Shabba Ranks’ As Raw As Ever (1992) and X-tra Naked (1993).
Clevie’s individual recognitions will include contributions to Buju Banton’s Upside Down 2020 (2021) and Friends for Life (2004); Barrington Levy’s Acousticalevy (2016); Jimmy Cliff’s Black Magic (2005), among others.
Steely & Clevie are widely recognised as pioneers of digital dancehall, innovating the blend of traditional reggae rhythms with electronic production techniques in the 1980s, laying the groundwork for modern dancehall.
They first met at Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark Studios and later became house musicians at King Jammy’s, where their experimental approach revolutionised studio production in Jamaica. Their 1994 reworking of Dawn Penn’s You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No) revitalised rocksteady-inflected reggae for a global audience, demonstrating their ability to bridge eras and genres.
Kennedy Mensah, CEO of Back 2 Da Future Music Ltd., said, “It is virtually impossible to quantify the importance of Steely & Clevie in the development of the World’s popular Music. It has been 40 years of riddim from their fledgling partnership at King Jammy’s Studios to their own Studio 2000 & Steely & Clevie labels. It is indeed an honour for Back 2 Da Future Music Ltd to be able to assist in the consolidation of their legend at this year’s Grammy Certificate Ceremony.”
Grammy Certificate Ceremony 2025 will be held on September 13 at the Audi Showroom in Kingston.