Prince Buster

Prince Buster was among the first of the Jamaican stars who would later become legends of Ska -- a group of artists whose work would inspire white kids in England to flock to black dance halls and sway to the music's bluebeat rhythms, just like their cool rudeboy idols. What set Buster apart from other acts was his penchant for naughty songs filled with none-too-subtle lyrics about sex, marijuana, gangsters, and a host of other topics that were too taboo for others to touch. Buster's classic recording "Oh Carolina" (a song which appears on nearly every Jamaican Ska compilation to date) may be his most well-known song, but more obscure hits such as "Madness" (from which the 2-Tone band took its name) and "Al Capone" are similarly sway-worthy. The too-dirty-for-radio "Big Five" displays Buster's keen ability to make a sexy song hilariously funny, and probably inspired the equally-foulmouthed Judge Dread during Ska's early '80s resurgence.