Dancehall music is a descendant of roots reggae music. When people speak of dancehall music today, they are generally referring to the digital equivalent of raggamuffin reggae mixed with modern hip hop (which reggae influenced in previous decades).
Dancehall reggae tracks are usually based on a fast, danceable instrumental riddim (usually with a distinctly digital sound) track, with a deejay singing, rapping, or toasting over it.
Dancehall deejays are traditionally males who sing and rap with smokey masculine voices. Dancehall lyrics are infamous for their content, which are often violent, sexist, and homophobic. Dancehall deejay feuds are a popular aspect of the genre’s history, sometimes going beyond dueling lyrics to include real physical violence.
However, recent trends have reversed this tradition in 2 new ways: first, singjays such as Mavado have become increasingly popular, with voices and melodies that are more reminiscent of R&B crooners than hiphop rappers. Second, the dancehall lyrical content is continuing to grow, with female and conscious male deejays becoming increasingly popular on the dancehall scene.
Read more about the history of dancehall music, from it’s roots reggae beginnings to it’s electronic ragga forms and conscious dancehall today.
VP Records are the leading dancehall music label (and they often post content and special offers here on Dub & Reggae). As of this writing, Sean Paul, Elephant Man, and Buju Banton have all signed with VP Records. VP also works with popular record labels to build dancehall artists’ distribution internationally.
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[...] Lynn first broke onto the electro dancehall scene with her aggressively hip Kingstonlogic 2.0 album. Inspired by her rough upbringing in [...]
[...] to showcase the Reggae Rising 2009 lineup. The 2009 Reggae Rising roster includes reggae and dancehall superstars and local [...]
[...] in NYC at 830am By dubman ⋅ July 21, 2009 July 24, 20098:30 amto9:30 amSean Paul, the dancehall star famous for his hit singles We Be Burnin’ and Temperature (both from his 2005 dancehall [...]
[...] as Sean Paul created 60 tracks for the album, cutting the list down to the final 19. Many top dancehall producers handled tracks on Sean Paul’s Imperial Blaze but the biggest presence is Stephen [...]
[...] you want to know the secret of how top-quality graphic designers design dancehall, reggae, and dub logos and album covers for musicians, sound systems, artistes, producers, labels, [...]
[...] University of the West Indies study has determined that Vybz Kartel AKA Gaza and Mavado the Gully God are the most popular dancehall artistes amongst young Jamaicans, topping out Beenie [...]
[...] Switch recorded it at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. Keep It Goin’ Louder is more Diplo/Switch dancehall derivative something or other, featuring Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze. The music video was directed by [...]
[...] 36, has homes in both Jamaica and Florida. He was one of the leading Jamaican dancehall stars in the 90s. More recently, his music has focused on roots reggae and was most recently [...]