Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor
Producer. Dancehall
- Active
- 2002-present
- Sunrise
- c. 1990, Jamaica
- Also known as
- Di Genius, Stephen McGregor
Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor is a producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, the son of Freddie McGregor, who began making dancehall riddims as a child and became one of the most successful Jamaican producers of the 2000s.
He grew up around Big Ship, the studio his father built at home in 1995, taught himself drums, guitar, keyboards, bass and violin, and began producing at twelve. At fifteen he co-wrote and produced Mavado's "Weh Dem a Do," and from the "Cartoon" riddim of 2004 he built more than forty riddims, among them "Red Bull and Guinness," "12 Gauge," "Tremor" and "Forever," voiced by Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel, Aidonia, Sean Paul and his father; Da'Ville's "Always on My Mind," Mavado's "Overcome" and Bounty Killer's "War Bridge" were his before he was eighteen.
His later credits run well beyond Jamaica: Sean Paul's Imperial Blaze (2009), Drake's Views (2016), Shakira's El Dorado and Damian Marley's Stony Hill (both 2017), Chronixx's Chronology (2017), Burna Boy's African Giant (2019) and John Legend's Bigger Love (2020), as well as Protoje and Wiz Khalifa's "A Vibe." He says he builds from whatever catches his ear, "conversations" or "random sounds"; one track began with a sample of a car's beeping.
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Freddie McGregor (parent)
- Bounty Killer (artist)
- Damian Marley (artist)
- Protoje (artist)
- Chronixx (artist)
- Vybz Kartel (artist)
- Sean Paul (artist)
- Elephant Man (artist)
- Mavado (artist)
Notes
- Krista Henry, "'Di Genius' at Helm of Big Ship," Jamaica Gleaner, July 20, 2008, https://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080720/ent/ent7.html. On his father, see the Freddie McGregor entry.
- Henry, "'Di Genius' at Helm of Big Ship," which calls him an "18-year-old prodigy" in July 2008.
- Dani Mallick, "Di Genius Is Tired of Dancehall 'Purists and Critics with No Credentials,'" DancehallMag, March 27, 2022, https://dancehallmag.com/?p=53118. Henry, "'Di Genius' at Helm of Big Ship."
- Mallick, "Di Genius Is Tired of Dancehall 'Purists.'"
- Tiffany Dyer, "Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor Shares How He Turns Everyday Sounds Into Hits," DancehallMag, April 17, 2024, https://dancehallmag.com/?p=81116.
