"Funkin' for Jamaica" is a 1980 single by jazz trumpeter, Tom Browne. The single -- a memoir of the neighborhood in the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 borough of Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

 where Browne was born and raised -- is from his second solo album, Love Approach

Love Approach

-Track listing:All tracks composed by Tom Browne, except where indicated# "Funkin' for Jamaica " 4:43 # "Her Silent Smile" 5:12# "Forever More" 3:22 # "Dream of Lovin' You" 4:20 # "Nocturne" 5:08...

. The vocals for the single were provided by Tonni Smith, who also helped compose the song. The song hit number one on the U.S. R&B chart for a month. "Funkin' for Jamaica" peaked at number nine on the dance chart and made the Top 10 on the UK singles chart.

DJ Tōwa Tei

Towa Tei

is a DJ, artist and record producer in Yokahoma, Japan.Tōwa debuted as a member of Deee-Lite, from the U.S. label Elektra Records in 1990, and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart"...

 released his remix cover version as a single in both 1999 and 2001, which featured Les Nubians

Les Nubians

Les Nubians is an R&B Grammy-nominated duo composed of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart from Paris, France. In 1985 the sisters moved with their parents to Chad. Seven years later, they returned to Bordeaux, France, and began singing a cappella, producing poetry slams in Bordeaux and Paris, and...

 on vocals, performing part of the song in French.

In 2001, the song's intro was sampled on the Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...

 single, "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)

Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)

"Don't Stop " is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey, DJ Clue, Duro, and Mystikal, and recorded for Carey's tenth album Glitter . It is built around a sample of the 1980s song "Funkin' for Jamaica " produced by Tom Browne and Toni Smith, and it features rapped parts by...

" for the soundtrack to Carey's film, Glitter

Glitter (film)

Glitter is a 2001 film starring R&B singer, songwriter Mariah Carey. It was produced by 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall. It centers on the life and times of a struggling singer from the early club music scene in the 1980s.-Production:Carey has said about...

.

In 2006, contemporary jazz guitarist Patrick Yandall

Patrick Yandall

Patrick Yandall is a contemporary jazz/rock/blues guitarist with 13 album releases. Patrick's song "Who's The Bossa Now" from the album "Samoa Soul" was used in the political satire film War, Inc. starring John Cusack and Marissa Tomei. Yandall's music has also been featured on television and news...

covered the song from his album "Samoa Soul."