For Dancehall and Reggae fans following the annual Grammy Awards closely, they may be eager for some insight on which albums may make the cut for this year’s Best Reggae Album nominations and, perhaps more importantly, which of them may make the strongest case for winning the prestigious award in 2022.
Squid Game—the hit South Korean survival drama and now Netflix’s biggest-ever series at launch—and Dancehall are two things most people wouldn’t think to draw parallels between, but Damion Crawford, former Member of Parliament for St.
Dancehall is the genre that keeps on giving, and no recent piece of evidence substantiates that more than the completely unexpected, and slightly comical affair that materialized – seemingly out of thin air last week – between EastSyde Prince Skillibeng and the Vendetta Boss Alkaline.
Sir P–the popular Jamaican YouTuber, has fired back at the 6ixx boss Squash following the release of the Shab Don-produced No Doubt.
Just last week, following the release of Kyodi’s latest song, Asset, which seems to have taken aim at popular Jamaican YouTuber, ‘Sir P’, Dancehall fans were loosely left with hints as to whether or not the young guns of the genre were finally acting against the former serviceman’s allegations.
Rapidly rising Dancehall artist Kyodi, of Aidonia’s 4th Genna camp, seems to have officially drawn a line in the sand against one of violence-themed Dancehall music’s biggest critics, the mysterious and authoritative YouTube persona, Sir P (of Politricks Watch), with the release of his new song, Asset.
As the Baltic Triangle in Liverpool roars with celebration in the final day of its annual Positive Vibration Festival of Reggae, patrons to the highly popular event had their love for the world-renowned genre immortalized when they were met with a towering, 7-foot tall statue of Reggae icon, Bob Marley, which had been unveiled just two days earlier on September 9, 2021.
As Dancehall fans brace for what they expect will be his best album yet, Popcaan has offered up a simple, cautionary soundbite: FIXTAPE was just the warm-up.
After first announcing it in August 2020 and following two postponed releases, Drake finally delivered on his promises when he dropped the highly-anticipated Certified Lover Boy–his sixth studio album–amidst a long-running feud with Kanye West, who also recently dropped an album of his own, the controversy-plagued DONDA.
A master at combining creativity with storytelling, Ding Dong has dropped a new song, L.I.E, featuring Shenseea’s vocals, which catapulted to the top of YouTube’s Trending Chart after being released just two days ago.
New school Dancehall artist Rytikal has released new visuals for his single titled Story. Finally delivering on a tease made to his Instagram page a few days ago, the 25-year-old EastSyde artist satisfied the curiosity of fans who had only a one-minute video montage with the caption: ‘The story coming soon’ to go on.
From extensively observing the genre’s genesis, to now witnessing its grand revelation, the powerful and unstoppable force that is Dancehall music has become an engine of cultural exchange and a magnet for commercialization.
Dancehall and Reggae may soon see one of its most conscious and talented voices returned to prominence, with a recent announcement indicating that Bugle, the famed ‘Nuh Compatible’ singer, is set to release his fourth studio album in October.
Although his work ethic is that of someone who’s still trying to make a name for themselves, Jamaican legend Sean Paul has not only conquered the mountaintop of Dancehall, but has comfortably made a home there.
One-hit wonders. The world of entertainment is filled with them. From top-notch singing and acting talents down to magnetizing and even polarizing personalities, the art of the One-Hit-Wonder – and make no mistake about it, it most definitely is an art (albeit sometimes unintentional) – is as mysterious as it is fascinating, and here in the Dancehall and Reggae arenas, we’ve heartbreakingly had our fair share of them.
While most Jamaicans reveled in the excitement that came with celebrating the island’s Independence on August 6, which also coincided with ongoing celebrations for the island’s Track and Field dominance in the ongoing 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Grammy award-winning Reggae artist and icon, Mark Myrie, more popularly known as Buju Banton, was not in as festive a mood.
All of Dancehall can be summed up in two words: brutal and unforgiving. Lest you be tempted to argue otherwise, consider whether the following descriptions of the world-renowned genre – using primarily those two words – are true: it is brutally unforgiving and it is unforgivingly brutal.