Five Breakout Dancehall Artists To Watch In 2021

During the year without concerts and live performances, several new and emerging Dancehall artists have stirred attention and are poised for breakout careers in 2021.  In Part 1 of this series, we highlight Nation Boss, Yaksta, 10Tik, Caano, and Skeng.

These five artists to watch are some of Jamaica’s new buzzworthy performers, who have been growing in popularity as well as charting high on multiple streaming platforms among Jamaican audiences, notably Apple Music, YouTube and Audiomack.

Just want the music mentioned in this article?  Stream our playlist on Spotify.

Caano

Straight off the bat, it is largely agreed on that Dancehall deejay, and sometimes singer, Caano has long had the skillset to make a name for himself in the local music industry. The former Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall contestant became a major fan-favorite after he gained significant notice on social media when a video of him freestyling made the rounds.

The deejay was observed performing the still unreleased track, You Said You Love Me, in the video that eventually went viral and introduced him to new audiences.

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“My style is crossover music. Trap, Dancehall, Afrobeat all infused…,” he told DancehallMag last year. “I want to be a household name in Dancehall. I want to be one of those artiste that bring the music to all points of the world Loving the music, being in the music, is what inspires my drive and that will never stop.”

His wildly popular Bank Robber & Polo Shorts, which is a bit of a cult favorite, pays homage to one of Dancehall music’s best-known and beloved fashion item, the Clarks’ Desert Trek that is affectionately known in Jamaica as the ‘Bank Robber.’

Even hitmaker Kranium agrees, the “song yah bad”.

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Caano quickly struck down any possible one-trick pony labeling, when he threw his hat into the proverbial ‘gyal dem deejay’ arena with singles like Make Me Feel, Missed Calls, Inside Her, and Love Yuh More, that all display a more amorous side of his discography. The latter showcases the ‘old city’ native sifting through his vocal range to tell an honest and haunting tale of being fully invested in loving someone. In another recent release, Rather Be, the rising singer shows yet another side as he croons about his strength amid life’s pains and struggles.

10Tik

10Tik, with little effort, waltzes across each production with vocal clarity and menacing wordplay that reigned supreme in Dancehall’s clash culture. The artist’s cadence is reminiscent of a seasoned veteran. On singles like Gangsta and Roll Deep, the deejay flaunts his lyrical prowess with a capable confidence and impertinent aplomb that is hard to ignore.

Similarly, 10Tik continues the ‘gangsta life’ narrative, with a curious tale detailing living and dying by the gun and all the other multiplicities of the underbelly of city life, on another standout single the Soul Of the City. The artist, on the track, paints a checkered and complex reality faced by the underserved, largely ignored population of Jamaica’s capital city.

Showing his range, 10Tik offered a love song to Jamaica on Best In Trees. The single is an easy, breezy summery-styled song about having drama-free fun in a party atmosphere. The track is an earworm completed with a global sound over a simple Dancehall-Hip hop fusion beat.

The young artist also intentionally diversifies his discography with some uplifting singles such as Purpose. The single encourages realizing self-belief and perseverance.

Nation Boss

Dancehall artist Nation Boss, the most recent breakout on this list, is creating major buzz with his Humans single, which has skyrocketed the newcomer into the limelight.  The song followed a freestyle the artist shared on social media which went viral and elevated his stock among his musical peers.

Nation Boss is now going Harder Than Ever for a space in a sometimes-saturated local music scene. The deejay is making tactical moves to grow his fan base and get his music into the ears of the masses, using the new found attention he is receiving from extensive press coverage.

Nation is now charged to harness the curiosity peaked by Humans to carve out a niche for himself among the ranks of the artists who hope to become mainstays on the local music scene.

Yaksta

Yaksta is getting a lot of recognition for one of his recent singles, Ambition, which encourages making responsible choices that lead to financial independence. The singer plainly explains that nonchalant attitudes and spending are counter-intuitive to growing generational wealth.

The multi-talented singjay also has a penchant for showing off his performing skills in some of his music videos. Sometimes the artist displays his acting chops in skits or shows off his more zany side in choreography and airy, enjoyable lyrics in videos like that of the single Boogie Woogie.

Notably, in one of Yaksta’s more introspective single, Home, he explores the complications that surrounds living below the poverty line. The lyrics of the single examines basic human wants and needs within the scope of the moral compasses that informs the natural thought process and general behaviors of people.

Arguably, one of the Yaksta’s most important musical pieces is the social commentary single Humans. For the better part of 6 minutes, the lyrics present a manifesto that outlines the consequences of the lifetime abuses meted out to ‘Mother Earth.’  The Bush Lawd’s musical repertoire even includes a love song of sorts that is dedicated to his hometown, that is aptly titled St Mary.

New music is expected from Yaksta in mid-April.  “We’ll be releasing our next single and as mi say, I just come fi do Yaksta. Mi nah try compete against nobody, mi just a try be me,” he told DancehallMag during an interview.  “I’m just going to create. I’m a creator, I create whatever I feel, so expect an EP by May and then some singles.”

Skeng

Another newcomer who is looking to etch his name on Jamaica’s music industry mural is deejay Skeng. The deejay has steadily released a slew of singles on which he mainly performs hardcore lyrics over distinct Trap fusion-styled beats that could effortlessly assimilate into certain North American rap genres.

Skeng, like some of his fellow music industry colleagues, has managed to formulate and adopt a carefree technique that helps him to churn out hard-hitting, lyric-driven singles – like Brrrp, Ypree, Burna and Duppy Dem – that has managed to turn out an identifiable hardcore body of work, thus far.

Like many other deejays who precede him, the young performer puts a spotlight on longstanding centerpieces of the largely ignored violent societal outcomes of ‘gangsta’ living on a pedestal for general observation.

Skeng’s lyrics are bold and unambiguous.

But, Skeng is not entirely about ‘badniss,’ the deejay also has tracks – like Hot Topic – that artfully infuses being fashionably dressed with partying and ‘braffing’ into his usual more explicit hardcore lyrical design.

Honorable mention: Fadagad

Before his untimely death, Fadagad was a rising star who was beginning to insinuate himself among the next crop of deejays who are expected to feature prominently in Jamaica’s local music industry.

The deejay’s latest and biggest single, Jah Guide, came out the same day he was killed. Ironically, the reverend lyrics of the track document the general struggles that are ever-present in day-to-day living, as well as the belief and trust that there is a higher power who guides and guards us along the paths we traverse.

But, much like other deejays, Fadagad’s lyrics also highlight the ugly underbelly of the violent networks that have ever-growing tentacles across Jamaica. Haunted & Wanted is one such single with lyrics that are among his more explicit descriptions of this kind of ‘badniss’ that permeates on the island; a culture that its players pursue with little to no consequence.

Similarly, Fadagad released tracks like Run Up Town and Cya Run that cleverly employ metaphors to detail explicitly violent acts.

But, the deejay also managed to balance out the ‘bus gun’ narrative with tracks like Perseverance, on which he encourages hopefulness and steadfastness in one’s approach to life and living.