Born in
Portland, Jamaica, in his early days Sporty rose to become a studio
sideman under
Clement Dodd's tutelage at
Studio One, and recorded for Dodd as a deejay as well as deejaying on Dodd's
sound system. In 1965 he released the track "El Cid", credited to King Sporty and Justin Yap. In the early 1970s he moved to Miami, Florida and began producing music there under his Tashamba and Konduko labels. He evolved from reggae to
funk to
disco to
electro to
Miami bass between the 1970s and 1980s. Sporty found lasting
hits in the
electro funk canon with Connie Case's "Get on Down" and "Haven't Been Funked Enough", under his Ex Tras moniker when he made licensing deals with
Tommy Boy Records in 1982. His original version of "Buffalo Soldier" was released in the late 1970s. He released the track "Computer Age" in 1992 under the name Sporty and the Laptop. Sporty was married to the American
soul and
rhythm and blues singer,
Betty Wright. International Reggae and World Music Awards – IRAWMA honored Mr. Williams with their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. In 2013 Sporty's song "Self Destruct" was sampled by
Justin Timberlake for his song "That Girl" on his
The 20/20 Experience album. He died on 5 January 2015 in Miami, Florida, aged 71. ==Group names used==