Jamaican musical history is full of great duos, from Stranger and Patsy to Andy and Joey to Kojak and Liza. But none has had more success on the international scene than Chaka Demus and Pliers, who teamed up in the late 1980s after starting out as solo performers.

After the hypnotically minimalist "Murder She Wrote" catapulted the former John Taylor and Everton Bonner to stardom in Jamaican music circles around the globe, the pair landed five straight top 20 singles in the UK from 1993 to '95, including three straight in the top five, setting a record for a Jamaican act.

Those hits came thanks to a sugary confection of pop-flavored reggae that drew heavily on already familiar tunes, like "Twist and Shout" by the Isleys and Curtis Mayfield's "She Don't Let Nobody."

Although the hit factory hasn't been churning out similar successes in recent years, the duo continues to record and tour, thanks to Pliers' emotive singing voice and the rhythmic patter of rapper Chaka Demus.

You can see Chaka Demus and Pliers in a rare Milwaukee appearance Wednesday, Dec. 5 at Shank Hall at 8 p.m. Natty Nation opens and cover is $15