Terror Fabulous
Artist. Dancehall
- Active
- 1990s-present
- Sunrise
- December 20, 1974, Jamaica
- Also known as
- Cecil Campbell
Terror Fabulous (Cecil Campbell) was one of the ragga deejays whose records sold in large quantities abroad in the early 1990s, and, in the Rough Guide's judgment, one of the most consistent Jamaican rappers never to have a global crossover hit, though he came close.
He came to the engineer and producer Dave Kelly after training in electrical engineering, according to Colin Larkin. His "Mr. Big Man" (1992) was so close to Buju Banton's cadence and tone, Sherman Escoffery wrote, that many fans took it for Buju. His debut album, Gwaney Gwaney (1992), balanced hardcore riddims from Patrick Roberts's Shocking Vibes with fuller ones from Donovan Germain's Penthouse, where he also voiced the updated "Swing Easy" riddim alongside Buju Banton and Cobra. Bobby Digital produced his second album, Terror, which included "You Would Ah Bawl," and Digital's hits with him, the Rough Guide says, brought him to the attention of major labels overseas; East West released two albums.
His nearest approaches to crossover came with two Kelly productions on Mad House: the very catchy "Action," with the singer Nadine Sutherland, and "Number 2"/"You Nuh Kotch," one of the many versions of Kelly's "Pepper Seed" riddim. With Buccaneer and Spragga Benz he was counted among the youthmen nearest Buju Banton, Bounty Killer and Capleton. He had left the dancehall circuit by 2000.
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Bobby Digital (producer)
- Donovan Germain (producer)
- Dave Kelly (producer)
- Mikey Bennett (producer)
- Wayne Wonder (collaborator)
- Determine (collaborator)
- Penthouse (studio)
Notes
- Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 291, 340.
- "Terror Fabulous," Wikipedia, accessed October 7, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_Fabulous.
- Sherman Escoffery, "Terror Fabulous Speaks: A Rare Interview with the Elusive '90s Dancehall Star," LargeUp, June 20, 2012, https://largeup.com/?p=26951.
- Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 313, 315, 344.
- Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 310, 340, 344.
- Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 293, 316, 340, 344. Wikipedia says "Action" reached number 43 in the United States. "Terror Fabulous."
- Escoffery, "Terror Fabulous Speaks."
