by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – There was not a lot of reggae in South Florida when Andre Chue Sang moved to the region over 40 years ago. The current explosion here owes a lot to the man known in music circles as Waggy Tee.
The City of Miramar recognized Waggy Tee’s trailblazing work as a sound system operator and radio disc jockey by declaring January 18 Waggy Tee Day. He was also presented with a Proclamation by Miramar’s Mayor, Wayne Messam.
Gratified that Messam and his team acknowledged “the works I have put in throughout the years”, Waggy Tee reflected on the evolution of South Florida’s dancehall/reggae landscape.
“In the late ‘70s to early ‘80s reggae music got a lot of fight getting played on radio and in clubs. We had to put on or throw our own little jam sessions in some banquet halls or country clubs in surrounding areas like Miami and Fort Lauderdale,” he said. “A few clubs would take a chance with our audience and have a reggae night, but usually it was on a off-night like a Sunday or Wednesday. Now, at least most clubs or radio mix shows have a reggae dancehall set played.”
For over 20 years, Waggy Tee hosted The Bashment Explosion with King Waggy Tee on WEDR 99 Jamz. The two-hour show started at midnight Fridays and aired a mix of roots-reggae and dancehall.
Waggy Tee was also a fixture at Jamaican dances, and helped expose a number of dancehall songs in South Florida at a time when New York City was the genre’s hub.
Today, South Florida is home to the Inner Circle band, and several producers such as Rvssian; Walshy Fire and Izy Beats who worked on Rapture, Koffee’s Grammy-winning EP.
For all that progress, Waggy Tee believes there is room for improvement.
“Reggae still not getting the full force to make it happen. It is still grasping for air time on radio stations across the USA,” he said.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, Waggy Tee migrated to South Florida in 1977. His involvement in music continues a rich legacy of Chinese-Jamaicans in reggae, set by producers Leslie Kong, Vincent and Pat Chin, the Hoo Kim brothers and Byron Lee.
One thing that has not changed about Waggy Tee is his indiscriminate taste. Party-goers at any of his sessions can expect to hear Bob Marley’s Crazy Baldhead to Tarrus Riley’s She’s Royal and hardcore dancehall acts Vybz Kartel and Mavado.
