Swizz Beatz Calls Out Cham At LL Cool J’s ‘Rock The Bells’ Festival: “You Can’t Do Hip-Hop Without Reggae”

Veteran Dancehall artist Cham added flair to LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells Festival at the Forest Hills Stadium in New York on Saturday (August 5, 2023).

The heavily Hip Hop-based festival could not have been complete without some Reggae and Dancehall, according to American record producer Swizz Beatz who invited the Jamaican star to share with the thousands who had turned out.

“You can’t do Hip Hop without Reggae,” Swizz declared. 

Cham then repeatedly asked,” can I do one more?” before he sprung into a rendition of Vitamin S. 

“@therealswizz We Ready For The Tour!! @rockthebells Was 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 @therealswizz Said You Can’t Have Hip Hop Without Reggae And Dancehall 🔥🔥🔥 Respect Bredda For The Love.. Bless Up King!!! Zaaaaaaa 🔥🔥🔥🔥” Cham captioned the clip he posted to Instagram.

The festival also included bigwigs like Ludacris, Queen Latifah and Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, Salt and Peppa, Redman, Sick Rick and more.

Earlier in his cameo appearance Cham delighted festival goers with Ghetto Stories.

The stint sat well with scores of social media users who flocked Cham’s comment sections to hail him, and Swizz Beatz.

“Swizz always represents for dancehall,” said one user.

“I love how your knees have stayed strong over the last 25yrs because lawd oh! I love this song but can’t jump like I use to in my 20s,” another fan jokingly said.

One more added: “Gotta respect @therealswizz he respects the culture 🇯🇲 real icon… big up @thecham 🔥🇯🇲”

Veteran Reggae/Dancehall artist Wayne Wonder chipped in saying, “Chef 🧑‍🍳 in the kitchen Hot Food. @thecham.”

Cham responded enthusiastically, “Wait Till The World Gets “Joyride Experience” Tour!! You Saw Grooving In The Park”

‘Joyride’ was in reference to Dave Kelly’s Joyride Riddim (also called Bashment), which was named after a song of the same name composed by Cham and Wayne Wonder. It was a massive hit in Jamaica.

It included other songs from some of Jamaica’s biggest names, including How it ago go, by Buju Banton; Sycamore Tree by Lady Saw; Bashment Girl by Wayne Wonder; Yuh nuh ready fi dis yet by Tanya Stephens; Hunting by Spragga Benz; Rubbers by Frisco Kid; Funny Man by Babycham and Mr Easy and Fresh off the Block by Alley Cat.

Swizz Beatz has always shown his affinity for Jamaican music. The biggest showcase of this was the orchestrated 2020 Verzus battle between Bounty Killer and Beenie Man. The producer had later hinted at a battle between Elephant Man and Ding Dong that did not materialize.