Although his first release, Girl You're Always on My Mind, had little impact, his vocal style soon found popularity, with his first hit single coming with 1979's Step It Up Youthman, which led to an album of the same name on Paradise Records.
[2] One of the most successful artists of the early dancehall era, Brown worked with some of Jamaica's top producers of the time, including Linval Thompson, Winston "Niney The Observer" Holness, Sugar Minott and Coxsone Dodd, as well as releasing self-produced material.
In 1980, Barry Brown also released the Rockers discomix Natty Dread Nah Run on the Strong Like Samson label with Anthony Johnson (musician) of Mystic I, a musical disc which was in demand amongst the Roots reggae sound system fraternity at the time.
In the same year, he teamed up with Jah Thomas to release the Scientist engineered Channel One Studios Discomix, Peace and Love on Keith Stone's Daddy Kool record label out of Dean Street.
In the 1990s, Brown's health deteriorated, suffering from asthma and substance abuse problems, and he died in May 2004 in Sone Waves recording studio in Kingston, Jamaica, after falling and hitting his head.