George Phang is further proof that folks associated with dancehall were perhaps a bit to closely tied to a criminal element.

Of course, staying away from a criminal element around Arnett Gardens or Tivoli Gardens is probably a difficult thing to do. But even before Phang delved into music production, his family had ties to people that would eventually comprise the top tier of the People's National Party (PNP).

Dissociating politics from crime in Jamaica’s a heady project. And just a few days ago, Phang saw fit to turn himself over to the cops, who were looking for him in connection with Dudus and the Shower Posse antics that had international implications.

Before all of this was making news in the States, Phang worked a successful, if only brief career, while issuing a spate of well regarded albums from some of JA’s best known toasters.

Amongst his releases was George Phang & Friends, sporting a spate of the genre’s early eighties’ stars. In a seamless showcase style, the disc moves from one track to the next pretty seamlessly. And to his credit, Phang saw fit to eschew some of the lesser influences of dancehall from the period – this was 1984 after all.

It would have been easy for fang to move towards the incessant digitized sounds so prevalent at the time. Part of that, though, stems from the apparent pummeling of his avowed rhythms. Any astute JA music fan is going to be passably familiar with the musical backing here. One might not be able to place a title to the beat and melody, but nothing here sounds brand new.

Phang, unfortunately, became known for his small stock pile of beats – though each worked well for the likes of B. Levy, Brigadier Jerry, Tenor Saw and an assortment of others. Eventually, though, folks grew tired of those tracks. And with that – as well as dancehall continuing to change through the nineties – Phang moved on to other endeavors, legal or not.

But moving back towards simply the business side of his interests led Phang to managing a sports team in addition to whatever he was maintaining on the side. His name isn’t necessarily synonymous with dancehall – or even music on an international scale. So, his involvement with folks being rounded up by the United States government might prove to be his enduring legacy. Hopefully, though, enough people get an ear full of George Phang & Friends to focus on the music and not the alleged wrong doings.