A producer who created an often sampled reggae song died from gunshot wounds over the weekend, in the West Indies.
Producer Winston Riley had been hospitalized since November, after he was shot in the head in his upscale residence in St. Andrew, Jamaica.
Prior to being shot in the head in November, Riley was targeted in August of 2011 when he was shot by unknown assailants.
Before that incident, he was stabbed by and unknown arsonists also burned down his legendary record store, Techniques.
Winston Riley was born west Kingston and rose to prominence in the early to mid 1960′s, as a member of influential Ska/Rocksteady band, The Techniques.
He was also influential in the popularization of Reggae music throughout Europe with hits in the 1970′s.
By the 1970′s Winston Riley was producing early records for a genre of music that would later be identified as Dancehall music.
He produced several hits for the genre including Tenor Saw’s classic “Ring the Alarm,” while artists like Nas, OGC, Busta Rhymes, Biz Markie, Slick Rick and numerous others have sampled his work.
Winston Riley’s son told local media they he had no idea why his father had been targeted.
