Stephen McGregor’s Hill and Gully riddim tops charts and stirs debate on mento roots

Producer Stephen McGregor is riding a wave of attention with his Hill and Gully riddim, which is topping Jamaican charts including YouTube and drawing wide conversation across the industry.

McGregor said he wanted to revisit the mento side of Jamaican music at a time when reggae, one drop, and ska dominate revivals, but fewer artists lean into the older traditional sound. He described the riddim as a personal blend of what he loves to hear, and said he expected a split reaction because the production sounds unlike much of today’s dancehall—similar to the early pushback he saw when tracks such as “Red Bull and Guinness” landed, followed by younger listeners embracing something new.

The original Hill and Gully belongs to Jamaican folk history. McGregor’s update has put him in the spotlight partly because critics object to rough lyrics on a folk classic, while many unauthorized voicings on the riddim push explicit content. He stressed that songs he produced officially include clean versions and radio edits, as he has always done, but he cannot control what others record when they take the beat.

He said dancehall has long mirrored society, sometimes uncomfortably, citing the mento track “Night Food” as among the first songs banned on Jamaican radio for sexual content. On Instagram this morning he counted more than 60 unauthorized versions against about eight authorized releases; Masicka’s “Slip and Slide” leads the official pack. He noted that cleaner tracks on the riddim often earn praise yet draw fewer streams than harder material, highlighting a gap between cultural ideals and audience behaviour in the social-media era.

On breaking Jamaican music overseas, McGregor argued strong songwriting is constant here, but visibility depends heavily on business—marketing budgets, labels, and promotion—citing reports that Shaggy may spend around US$150,000 to push a single, far beyond what most local artists can afford. More official Hill and Gully songs are due in coming days and weeks, including work with artists such as I-Octane and Mavado and others outside his usual circle, with a few surprises planned. He is also open to international remixes when they serve the music without sacrificing quality, pointing to historic examples such as Buju Banton’s “Walk Like a Champion” remix and the global success of Omi’s “Cheerleader” remix.

McGregor said the Hill and Gully conversation should include cultural evolution, not only nostalgia, and that Jamaica’s best international chance is authenticity—as when overseas audiences sing along to artists who sound unmistakably themselves.