Reggae Dancehall

Dancehall reggae’s roots lie in the bone-rattling rhythms pumping out of Jamaican sound systems with DJs toasting on top. The sound really began rocketing into orbit in the ’80s with “singjays” like Tenor Saw, the man who put the “king” in Kingston with his milestone single “Ring the Alarm,” which impacted everything from rock to hip-hop. By the ’90s, dancehall ruled the reggae roost, and hits like Buju Banton’s “Champion” put even more grit, growl, and grind into the sound. But even raw-throated rough rider Shabba Ranks likes to add a little sugar sometimes, and when he cut “Mr. Loverman,” featuring Chevelle Franklyn’s sexy croon, it opened up dancehall to a whole new audience.

The ladies of dancehall start strutting their stuff in Next Steps.

Don’t get the idea that dancehall is strictly a guy thing — there’s no denying that the ladies get their licks in too. Sister Carol showed that you don’t have to disconnect from roots reggae to achieve dancehall success, with her ’90s update of Johnny Clarke’s rastafied 1977 classic “Dread Natty Congo.” At the other end of the spectrum, Lady Saw could get just as down and dirty as the fellas with “I’ve Got Your Man.” Of course, the blood-pumpin’ beat of Sean Paul’s blockbuster hit “Get Busy” transcends the gender divide, driving both sides to get straight down to the business of shakin’ it like a Polaroid picture.

In Deep Cuts, dancehall’s roots dig into everything from dub to rocksteady.

One way or another, dancehall reaches into almost every era of reggae history. The first artists to point in a dancehall direction were still cutting their tracks with roots ruler Coxsone Dodd at his legendary Studio One, like Michigan & Smiley, whose “Nice Up the Dance” was sprinkled with rub-a-dub style and a sample from Dodd’s classic ’60s production “Real Rock.” Likewise with the Lone Ranger, whose hit “The Answer” revolves around a riff from rocksteady star Slim Smith’s 1967 single “Never Let Go.” And on the more modern side of things, Elephant Man showed how much hip-hop and dancehall have in common, through his summit meeting with Atlanta crunk kings Lil’ Jon and Bone Crusher on “Jook Gal.”

If the roots sound is reggae’s heartbeat, and dub is its soul, then dancehall is surely the flesh and blood that makes reggae real enough to feel in your gut, and infectious enough to make you shake your moneymaker on the dance floor until you’re drenched with sweat. From the originators to the upstarts, from hotstepping Ini Kamoze to sassy Sister Carol, and beyond, we’ve delved into every corner of dancehall, to offer you only the most crucial tracks. So whether you want to hone in on Chaka Demus & Pliers’ killer cut “Murder She Wrote” or get the lowdown from Canadian crossover sensation Snow’s “Informer,” we’ve got you covered.