Shy FX
Shy FX (London-born DJ and producer Andre Williams) is a veteran jungle/drum’n’bass DJ and producer who has scored several U.K. pop hits and helped the genre achieve mainstream acceptance while maintaining underground credibility. The grandson of pioneering Jamaican sound system DJ Count Shelly, Shy FX made his name producing ragga-jungle, marrying fast, choppy breakbeats with reggae samples and dancehall vocals. “Original Nuttah,” his groundbreaking 1994 single with UK Apachi, was one of jungle’s first U.K. Top 40 hits and remains one of the genre’s signature tunes.
As jungle evolved into drum’n’bass and largely shifted away from overt reggae influence, Shy FX remained a respected and influential producer, releasing countless underground club tracks (including the 1998 classic “Bambaata”) and founding successful labels Ebony Recordings and Digital Soundboy. His hit singles in collaboration with fellow drum’n’bass veteran T-Power, beginning with 2001’s Top Ten-charting “Shake Ur Body,” have brought a pop/R&B sensibility to the genre, and he has remixed or collaborated with British pop stars such as Emeli Sandé, Dizzee Rascal, and Plan B. Many of Shy FX’s productions from the 2010s, including 2016’s “Honey” (with Kiko Bun) and his 2018 remix of Jorja Smith’s “Let Me Down,” have paid homage to his reggae roots.