Rolling Dancehall & Reggae 2012

Konshens put out so much stuff this year I started overlooking his tunes at some point and probably missed some good tunes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLn78Xk_iag

"like a Burger King combo"

more Konshens tunes tunes tunes tunes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Nrc4JDBQQ

http://www.afropop.org/wp/6432/running-down-the-year-part-1/

Someone named Sax*n Baird at afropop worldwide lists some of his fave caribbean tunes for 2012:

Machel Montano – Go Down (Loudspeaker Riddim)

Popcaan – “When Mi Party” (Summer Wave Riddim

Vybz Kartel – ” R U Ready” Ft Stylysh (Buss Up Riddim)

Tnght Riddim – The Heatwave Refix Featuring Mr. Lexx & Nikisha

he also likes Montreal dj Poirier – Soca Road EP

thanks curmudgeon--please post more lists if you find them. I haven't seen any yet. Last year I made a few friends a playlist of my favorite dancehall from the year, so I'll probably post that list here soon and nominate a bunch of it to the ILM poll. Would love to see anyone who reads this thread's lists too--top 5 or whatever.

That Montano track has shown up on at least one other list I saw. My girly taste means I like Natalie Storm ("Rock the Runway") on Loudspeaker and Gaza Slim ("Independent Ladies" raved about a bit upthread) on Summer Wave more.

"Kartel may be in jail awaiting trial, but that hasn’t stopped him from dropping a few singles."

lol

love this thread, rob (and indeed others who post regularly) - gave me one of my top five? top three? songs of the year - Psycho by Tommy Lee, also Vybz Kartel Lip Gloss, very highly placed in my year-end tunes.

interesting to hear your love for Psycho! Tommy Lee really should have come up more itt--he seems like basically the biggest thing to happen in JA music this year, for better or worse. While horrorcore dancehall isn't a thing I would have thought I would enjoy, I have come to like Pyscho too, though after hitting a run of his tracks where he seemed to be trying to expand his repertoire unsuccessfully, I stopped paying attention. Until the other night when I checked out "Shook" and "Uncle Demon" which are both pretty great and in the same vein as "Psycho." Also, dude gets credit for making some genuinely disturbing videos (as well as inspiring the video for "Why Yuh Mad").

Well I'm a sucker for supernatural vengeance, which, added to that incredible delivery, made it a song totally impossible to resist for me. 'Sparta send some cyanide and 'bout two drum a gunpowder' is a line that's been in my head loads this year - 'unhinged' was the word I think you used - good word for it. Will check out those other two. Haven't really been keeping up with... anything really, so was good to go through a load of recs on this thread this eve.

yeah, I love that "cyanide" line too: a weirdly refreshing change of pace from gunman lyrics.

There's probably a really good essay to write about how Lee's use of Jamaican/Caribbean folklore about the undead (duppies, Haitian zombies, demons, etc). If nothing else, the youtube comments for his videos are always interesting--I have no special knowledge of JA culture, but Lee does seem to be pressing some buttons in genuinely shocking ways, not unlike Vybz Kartel's skin-bleaching but easier to stomach from a US perspective.

And he's got a new one out. Surprised to find myself really into the second half. Swerves from horrorcore to goth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip3IQ6cbduM

cheers rob. yeah i was thinking about Psycho - there's something about that attenuated bo diddley beat and the claustrophobia of a community populated with ghosts and duppy and zombies and general fear that makes it very atmospheric. didn't really realise Jamaican horrorcore was a thing - is there anyone else aside from Tommy Lee doing it? Oh yeah, it's just got to the second half in that vid - that's great! Like you say, it makes a change from gun stuff - and with the supernatural so close it feels a bit more vulnerable, man diddling about with powers that will kill him for temporary gang supremacy/survival - like another favourite line from Psycho 'Mmm, duppy worst thing you can see, dem send duppy for me'.

And yes, continuation of the whole duppy/supernatural strand in reggae is interesting.

LargeUp's Top 10 tracks of the year (their album list is awful):
1. Konshens -- "Gal a Bubble"
2. Mavado -- "Cyaa Hold Me Again"
3/4. Cham -- "Tun Up"/"Lawless"
5. Popcaan -- "The System"
6. Potential Kidd -- "Yah Suh Nice"
7. RDX -- "Jump"
8. Konshens -- "So Mi Tan"
9. Tommy Lee -- "Psycho"
10. Bounty Killer & Cecile -- "Ride"

Honorable mentions:
Mr. Vegas -- "Bruk It Down" and "Party Tun Up"
Busy Signal -- “Kingston Town,” “Come Shock Out” and “Artiste”

http://largeup.okayplayer.com/2012/12/21/toppa-top-10-the-best-dancehall-singles-of-2012/

Great list, though definitely too male-dominated--I have 3 Tifa songs alone on my 2012 favorites playlist. I hadn't caught that Mavado/Di Genius tune (came out last December apparently), and I've been ignoring Busy's new roots album but that Kingston Town song is niiice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cHCDW60cIM

I checked out "Shook" and "Uncle Demon" which are both pretty great and in the same vein as "Psycho."

ha, those are actually the same song. I think I meant "Goat Head" though it's << "Uncle Demon/Shook" and "Psycho"

didn't really realise Jamaican horrorcore was a thing - is there anyone else aside from Tommy Lee doing it?

I'm not aware of anyone mining the same territory as Tommy Lee. After listening to a bunch of his stuff over the past couple of days because of your posts, I'm hoping he's got good management that can steer him well. I almost never like hearing him on a riddim that has lots of other versions--he really benefits from tracks that are as chilly and warped as his lyrics. It could be comparable to the way Cham has made such a big impact this year by sticking to a very particular style of riddim, or, as more of a cautionary tale, how Mavado pretty much only sounded good working with Di Genius.

Buss a Blank also worth your time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qaml2SbnPI

new thread, all welcome: rolling dancehall & reggae 2013