World of Jamaican Music

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An illustrated map of the creators of Jamaican music and how they are connected.

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Buccaneer

Artist. Dancehall

Active
1994-present
Also known as
Andrew Patrick Bradford, Anthony Bradford

Buccaneer is a deejay and producer of 1990s dancehall, remembered above all for setting his lyrics to European classical music, and one of the young deejays the Rough Guide placed nearest to Buju Banton, Bounty Killer and Capleton.

Born Andrew Patrick Bradford, he came up with Danny Browne's Main Street label, which Browne launched in 1994 with a clean, bright sound aimed at teenagers and which was also home to General Degree; both deejays were known for their humor. In 1996, giving Placido Domingo some competition, as the Rough Guide put it, he scored with the dancehall favorites "The Sketel Concerto" and "Man Tief Sonata," both produced by Browne, and "Brukout Brukout," on the Heavy Metal rhythm, named for Browne's guitar, was just as popular. Classic, his album for Greensleeves, gathers the "Bad Man Sonata" and its companions. He also voiced for Penthouse, on the updated "Swing Easy" rhythm, and for Andre Tyrell, on "Johncrow" and "Fire-side."

He then launched his own label, Opera House, and proved a refreshing producer, drawing top performances from Bounty Killer, Red Rat, Future Troubles, Frisco Kid and Kiprich. By one account he was also the first to record Mavado.

Last updated October 22, 2026

Connections

Notes

  1. Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 340.
  2. "Buccaneer (musician)," Wikipedia, accessed October 22, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buccaneer_(musician), which gives his name from his ASCAP songwriter registration; Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 341, gives it as Anthony Bradford. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 346, quotes Baek and Hedegard on Browne's aims.
  3. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 341-42. "Buccaneer (musician)," Wikipedia, dates "Skettel Concerto," based on The Marriage of Figaro, to 1995 and Classic to 1997.
  4. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 313, 318.
  5. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 341, 346.
  6. "Buccaneer (musician)," Wikipedia. Thinly sourced.

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