“The neighbour heard a gun explode, they called the police, and this morning, I spoke to the police who said that a gunshot killed him. Bwoy, it waan look like is a murder. Both he and his babymother in one week. His babymother was killed last week, dem chop her up and now dem kill him. Style had bought his house in Mandeville, he liked that area because it had less crime and it was quiet, but see it de, they found him in a pool of blood. It is sad, ah just so it go,” saxophonist Tony Greene told Loop News.
Scott was a Jamaican reggae drummer, famous for playing in the Roots Radics and, later, with Dub Syndicate. He also drummed with Prince Far I, Bunny Wailer, Scientist, and Creation Rebel.
“Style was a great drummer, we did a lot of songs together, we toured together, did a lot of gigs over the years. He was the drummer at Gregory Isaacs’ memorial in July on Isaacs’ birthday, that was the last thing we did together, Style had said he was going away, ” Greene said.
Scott’s musical career started in the 1970s while still in the Jamaican Defence Force, during his free time he would often sit in on rehearsals and occasionally play. Gradually he started playing on sessions for the dub musicians at the time. This led into the formation of The Roots Radics in 1978 with bass player Errol “Flabba” Holt, guitarist Eric “Bingy Bunny” Lamont.
“We were in the army together, he got the name ‘Style’ because he copied Sly’s style, that’s why we call him Style,. He took out all his teeth to be like Sly because Sly had no teeth,” Greene said, chuckling.
The group played as rhythm section for many artists including Bunny Wailer, Israel Vibration, and Gregory Isaacs as well as releasing their own records. Scott met Adrian Sherwood of On-U Sound Records while touring Europe with Prince Far I in the 1980s and Dub Syndicate grew from that meeting.
Style Scott started his own record label Lion & Roots which released the later Dub Syndicate records.
Circumstances around his death remain unknown but the Mandeville police are investigating.
