Casiotone MT-40

A home keyboard that started a genre by accident. The Casiotone MT-40 went on sale in 1981 with preset backing patterns, one of them a "rock" rhythm programmed by Casio engineer Okuda Hiroko. In Jamaica that preset became the Sleng Teng riddim behind Wayne Smith's "Under Mi Sleng Teng", a smash hit in 1985 on the Jammy's label, and Casio's little keyboard is credited with playing midwife to digital dancehall. Proof that genre-defining gear does not have to be expensive, or even meant for professionals.