Mikey Bennett
Producer. Dancehall, reggae
- Active
- 1980s-present
- Sunrise
- 1952 or 1953, Kingston, Jamaica
- Also known as
- Mikie Bennett, Michael Anthony Bennett, Michael Bennett, Two Friends
Mikey Bennett is the songwriter and vocal arranger whose work ran through the best of King Jammy's and Gussie Clarke's early digital records, and who went on to produce Shabba Ranks and Cocoa Tea with his own Two Friends company.
Born in Kingston and raised in Vineyard Town, he was brought up an Adventist, studied business at West Indies College, and took his songs to producers until Mikey Chung introduced him to the vocal group Home T-4. Under his direction the re-formed Home T had its biggest records in the late 1980s, among them "Pirates' Anthem" and "Stop Spreading Rumours." At Jammy's studio his arranging and songwriting were part of the team, with Bobby Digital and Steely and Clevie, that made the King's productions; at Music Works he provided most of the vocal arrangements for Clarke's labels in the late 1980s, and the Gleaner credits him with songs such as Gregory Isaacs's "Rumours" and J. C. Lodge's "Telephone Love."
In 1989 or 1990 he and Patrick Lindsay formed Two Friends, which used Music Works and Black Scorpio and had a glossy sound like Clarke's: Cocoa Tea's "No Blood for Oil," Dennis Brown's "Poison," Hopeton Lindo's "Slaughter," and Shabba Ranks's Golden Touch, his most consistent album, made just before his move to Epic. Bennett also had a hand in Shabba's "Mr Loverman" and the Maxi Priest and Shabba hit "Housecall," worked with Tony Rebel and Shaggy, and later produced Mr. Vegas's "Sweet Jamaica" and the 1998 World Cup song "Rise Up." In 2026 he was named for the Order of Distinction. Fatis Burrell counted him among the producers trying to clean up the music in the 1990s.
Last updated October 23, 2026
Connections
- King Jammy (employer)
- Dennis Brown (artist)
- Gussie Clarke (employer)
- Shabba Ranks (artist)
- Tony Rebel (artist)
- Cocoa Tea (artist)
- Terror Fabulous (artist)
- Gregory Isaacs (collaborator)
- Tarrus Riley (collaborator)
Notes
- Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 297, 307.
- "Mikie Bennett Says OD Is 'Icing on the Cake'," Jamaica Gleaner, August 9, 2026, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/index%2Ephp/article/entertainment/20260809/mikie-bennett-says-od-icing-cake. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 308.
- Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 297, 307; "Mikie Bennett Says OD Is 'Icing on the Cake'."
- Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 307-9, 329. The Rough Guide dates Two Friends to 1990; the Gleaner gives 1989. "Mikie Bennett Says OD Is 'Icing on the Cake'."
- "Mikie Bennett Says OD Is 'Icing on the Cake'." Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 150, 329, 367, 430.
- Burrell quoted in Lloyd Bradley, This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music (New York: Grove Press, 2001), 540.
