Founded in the 1970's in New York by Lloyd Barnes, a.k.a. Wackie or Bullwackie, Wackies is considered by some to be the first significant reggae studio and label in the United States. Besides releasing popular Jamaican reggae artists such as
Horace Andy or
Sugar Minott Lloyd Barnes also developed a number of New York-based artists such as
Jah Batta and
Junior Delahaye, whose releases primarily appeared on the Wackies label. The Wackies label is now included in the
Basic Channel family, which rereleases many of the highly sought-after and collectable records.