Lister Hewan-Lowe was born in 1952 at Halfway Tree, Jamaica. He relocated to New York in 1972 and was some years during the seventies project leader on Island Records. It was Lister who signed Burning Spear and Black Uhuru to the label.

In 1980 he launched his own record label, Clappers. A small label that have had tremendous influence on both reggae and hiphop.