rolling dancehall & reggae 2017

Yep, those three are my favorites too. Great riddim that somehow got slept on a little?

maybe a little as a riddim qua riddim. I feel like the Riley track especially broke through though? Idk I guess it depends on what context we're talking about

speaking of that Martin album, this collab with Busy Signal was the stand-out among the new tracks for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt2wBwU1NyI

Steppin was from last year, actually. I always liked it, though! And yeah, there's a certain sweetness to Martin's approach that sets him apart imo. I loved his two versions on 47th Floor as well.

Slept on is relative, of course. I just remember thinking it would totally rule the summer but then Moskato turned up and kind of took over everything.

ha I seem to have slipped into constantly posting older tracks on the rolling threads. I really like Martin too and the album is strong if maybe a little exhausting as a single listen, but it would serve as a great intro for anyone not too familiar with him.

ok yeah that's true about the summer/Moskato. I wonder if Rvssian being in Miami (iirc) rather than JA has anything to do with it? that said he seems well poised to take advantage of the massive lane opened up to south america by "Party Animal". the intl audience for dancehall is super interesting right now--I just looked up the video for the Riley track and all the commenters are Kenyans!

lol yeah. The good thing about Justin going dembow and this major lazeresque pop era is that you can mix in just about everything. The lanes are open.

production on this new Chronixx dancehall track is p incredible:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlM1X1_Cams

Reggaeville claims it's self-produced too. I suppose there's no chance that all of Chronology will sound like this

Just came here to say I've been enjoying the hell out of the Vybz x Wizkid. Wizzy adds so many extra happy vibes to it.

Well, also to post two hot new tracks by Busy Signal:

https://soundcloud.com/vpal-dist/busy-signal-dangerous-bam-bam-stainless-music-vpal-music

"Dangerous Bam Bam" (the hottest)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Brk0ci8U1E

"Wifey vs. Matie" (also-hot)

Yeah, the Vybz & Wiz has grown on me. I do wish it had sounded a bit more... organic, but Wizkid does soften it in the right places.

To me it sounds organic enough, but then, you knew the original already and I only heard it afterwards, so matter of perception perhaps?

probably, yes. To me it sounds a bit too much like a cut and paste but i've pretty much replaced the original with the wizkid version so by now so i'm not really complaining.

My favourite dancehall track this year comes from a UK rapper:

Stefflon Don - 16 Shots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5TIDDx57-0

http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10022-the-50-best-dancehall-songs-of-all-time/

wau:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHx6vM4iCw

(Alkaline, "Fast")

Popcaan's "Addictive" has been around for a while, is good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4Me1Hv8AxI

yes, very.

oh man, best thing Tifa has done in an age and this whole riddim could really grow on me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Wq5d0g-Z8

Yeah, I love the Humbug. The Chris Martin is my fave at the moment though.

Ooh, haven't heard that yet, looking forward. The "Daniella Whine" remix is pretty hot--I've always loved that tune and Elephant Man sounds pretty fired up on the remix. In other good news, Alklaline just dropped this tune too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKe8Lk9pOOQ

Actually, every version on the Humbug Riddim is a winner. The Kartel version is probably my favorite though. He's so deliciously dirty and super specific, lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-4i3sigiI

I love what Chris Martin does with the melodies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_STMQG5wL4

Also, Mavado reminding us to wear a condom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg2H7d3EsmU

ILM's 2017 Rolling Dancehall and Reggae Thread Spotify Playlist

really like Rvssian's production on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN41UT1aIAg

pretty stunning to see that "Privado" has over 100million views

This made the lower echelons of the 1Xtra playlist and may be my fave track of the year

Shenseea - Reverse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dP5eD7xqzI

Alkaline's "Fast" still keeps getting better and better with each play. "Rapido, rapido, rapido, rapido, rapido, rapido, rapido..."

Reverse is great! I think I rated it below "Jiggle Jiggle" upthread but they're both excellent. She's inevitably put out some weak stuff, but so far Shenseea is the most exciting thing happening this (kinda slow so far?) year for me. Alkaline was in that spot last year though.

Anyone know why Chronology hasn't come out yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x--oBoLliIA

ishawna causing some consternation and wailing w/ her pro-head stance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP1geWwZEzA

also this new busy is too sick, him and alkaline are the best at not just riding a riddim but making their voices another instrument in the song

that was definitely the best way to end my don't-listen-to-Sheeran policy

anxiously waiting for this year's fever or ova dweet to emerge. this mavado tune is good though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQH_37l7kdo

Crazy Glue Riddim is pretty crazy and sticks like glue. Sean Paul and Alkaline on the obvious hit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IZd6v0zoUM

Also, this Kartel and Masicka is hard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4olEDVTbhw

And Alkaline is unstoppable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOA7oWqzhNI

My favorite riddim atm is the Bad & Sexy though - def here to stay for the summer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz0558pufFs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pZZ650HLkA

Oh, so we haven't even posted these Alakalines? Slipping!

Pretty Girl Team is one of the best songs of the year, easily:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1aVmoweBUI

Nice and Easy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPp7NOsAu4E

A few of the new Kartel releases have sounded "old" but as always, there's more than enough to go around:

Love hearing him on a soca riddim (the 6.3). Reverb & Delay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvXsWT4QOc0

Love It:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LfSVWXXAgE

Secret:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJIBgeZ-9DI

Highest Level (posted upthread) is the one I keep returning to though. Guessing it will stick around through the summer.

RDX with yet another Bam Bam remake. You basically can't miss with these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfLN9kLR6AE

admittedly I've been very distracted this year (though I did post "Nice and Easy" a while back; the YT got pulled), but this surprisingly strong late addition to an aging franchise caught my ear:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExaiWN8T5o8
(Cham & Miss O, "Get Drunk")

Dave Kelly sounds absolutely and effortlessly contemporary on that (which obvs says more about the contemporary than him but still)

seem to remember also liking a Chi Ching Ching track a bit back, Poppy's "1Guh" and Mavado's "Dirt Nap"

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

new equiknoxx produccy is hard

production-wise this should probably go on the afrobeats thread; it's warm and lovely either way:
Popcaan f. Davido, "My Story"
https://open.spotify.com/album/1k7QAPJW7lrgpKJVK3HyRG

okay on subsequent listen with actual headphones ^that is a serious jam

and this excellent Alkaline just dropped too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXWx8eJUtuU

some nice stuff from french guiana; Jahyanai King & Bamby:

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXHj7feMIi0

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

half year thread playlist update bump

ILM's Rolling Dancehall and Reggae Thread 2017 Spotify Playlist

just me or is the chronixx album a bit of a disappointment?

yeah I listened to about half of it and got kind of bored despite liking some bits (iirc the one with his dad was good?). I should give it another shot but haven't felt particularly inclined.

one with his dad (big bad sound) and both the singles (majesty, likes) are nice enough, the rest is a mix between okay and unlistenable explicit trop xover bid (i can)

I like the individual songs whenever I hear one of them, but no, I haven't been able to really listen to the album either. Which is... weird. Anyway, this gives me an excuse to post Aidonia's Yeah, which should have been posted many weeks ago (along with a dozen other songs but... work).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAfoh46RYNY

unlistenable explicit trop xover bid (i can)

lol I do remember that one

think I like "Krayzay" and "Banga" more than "Yeah Yeah" but nice to see him so full of fire this year

thread is tragically neglected this year, but did we ever post anything from La Vida riddim?

i like money topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ina8BboD4fA

I think Bruise is the only recent Aidonia I have a slight problem with, but mostly because the idea of bruising and sex makes me go hmmmm.

This new Kartel stays lodged in my brain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Wzm0SVuv0

that's a good one. I like I Octane on that riddim too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xuLPriwXjw

been wondering lately if this has been kind of a down year or if it's me? I definitely haven't been staying super current like years past, but just looking at say Alkaline's output, I think only Fast and Red Eyes have really stuck with me. curious if you feel the same way. otoh, I don't want to blame everything on politics but this has also been a pretty anhedonic year in general and I've spent way more time listening to older stuff in response

mm hm is so good, reminds me of older kartel like court case or something.
think it has been a bit of a down year though, a lot of the energy has moved to the uk for me. if i want to hear a new alkaline song i'm more likely to reach for his guest verse on textin. that said pretty girl team is one of my favorites of the year.

this one's great as well. good month for vybz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-FfToAJpd0

https://soundcloud.com/the_large/infrared-mixtape

such an absolute fire mix and a good overview of the year for casual thread-perusers

just me or is the chronixx album a bit of a disappointment?

― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Wednesday, September 6, 2017 4:24 PM (two months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah I listened to about half of it and got kind of bored despite liking some bits (iirc the one with his dad was good?). I should give it another shot but haven't felt particularly inclined.

― rob, Wednesday, September 6, 2017 4:45 PM (two months ago

Saw that Rolling Stone magazine put this in their top 2017 album list so I gave it another listen. Eh, its ok with some strong moments, but yeah nothing amazing.

Aidonia still going hard:

https://youtu.be/LtUmdsEdiGI

Great mix of instrumentals from Bass Clef on NTS.

https://www.nts.live/shows/floatingworldmusic/episodes/open-hand-real-flames-28th-november-2017

For those compiling your year-end lists, this playlist includes all the available tracks on this thread, organized roughly chronologically in order of mention:

ILM's 2017 Rolling Dancehall + Reggae Thread Spotify Playlist

Thanks ulysses, really appreciate your work on these

terminatorthumbsup.jpeg

rereading the thread I must confess: I now love "Can't Believe", it just took a while for that hook to totally worm its way in.

ha ha, I knew it!
Honestly though, there have been a lot of big tunes that haven't been posted in this thread this year. The same goes for the afro and soca threads. My new year's resolution is to step up for 2018.
But since I'm here, let me jiust mention that the All Night Riddim is pretty gorgeous.

Alkaline:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2_QDsFU1Ks

Mavado:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4v24DuiNEk

Tarrus & Konshens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68jbqgel0oI

Chris Martin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtgUAVulFvM

D-Major, Jahmiel and Sean Paul are also good on it.

Vybz is still the artist I've listened to the most in 2017 though. I don't know how it's possible but there have been about 20-30 new Kartel tracks that I really love/like this year.

re Cant Believe. I noticed one day I had the keyboard hook in my head and when I went to youtube to listen to it, I caught the "dance video" which is just super fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWx-_7V24Yc

nice Teetimus track from that Large mixtape:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3D0a8dUScI

nih-ninininih-nih-ninininih-nih-ninininih-nih-ninininih...

otm

also from the dept of potential EOY second thoughts, this Fader micro-doc on Masicka is p likeable: http://www.thefader.com/2017/12/05/masicka-documentary-energy-fader

as is, i should mention, the track in question:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB508IJYSYs

I totally missed that one. Sounds like he's beginning to stretch out and loosen up a bit.

wow Alkaline kills this:

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

faster than Fast?

Some v half-baked thoughts after listening to Large Up/Mighty Crown's eoy mix:
This was a good year, but I do think it was kinda uneventful/unsurprising, basically dominated by a handful of (excellent) artists. As mentioned above, no single uniting song or riddim, no weird/funny novelty tracks, a very quiet year for the roots scene. No promising new stars with the exception of Shenseea, whose success put the shutout of women in the genre into relief. There are a couple riddims on that mix that absolutely cry out for an Alaine or Denyque--it's weird that there are no women in that rnb-ish space while we have Kranium, Jahmiel, Vershon, Chris Martin, et al (as much as I dig all those guys) plus all the singjays.

That all sounds like I'm complaining but tbc there are a ton of awesome tracks on that mix. Alkaline was especially versatile and consistent--he has like 10 tracks on the mix and they're all fire, even the one about his mom. I find Mavado in 2017 to be kind of a puzzle: it's always nice to hear him pop up in that mix but he's never the best thing on any riddim. OTOH he has really good taste in riddims, unlike say Popcaan who is pretty indiscriminating but there's always a bunch of gems.

Of course the mix is just one crew's take and Large Up's actual lists are to come so there's probably some major blindspots in all that^. I think it's a decent year overview but there are some weird choices (why only one Shenseea track and why that one?).

A couple new to me tunes on that mix. This Popcaan track seems to be some Japan-only thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsU7ofIkLUs

and then there's this Sizzla:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTI1o-aWigU

I really like Mavado's Red Rose - it's one of those songs where the emotion doesn't just sound like it's his default mode but actually means something. Probably in my top 20 dancehall songs this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAR39kbwsVQ

Ah yeah that is superb, hadn't heard it before!

LargeUp's dancehall tracks list:

1. Chronixx – “Likes”
2. Vybz Kartel – “Mhm Hm”
3. Aidonia – “Yeah Yeah”
4. Vybz Kartel f. Shenseea – “Loodi”
5. Masicka f. Vybz Kartel – “Infrared”
6. RDX – “Shake Your Bam Bam”
7. Aidonia – “Banga”
8. Ishawna – “Equal Rights”
9. Ding Dong – “Fling Yuh Shoulda”
10. Bounty Killer – “Do Better Than This”
11. Vybz Kartel – “Highest Level” / “Kremlin”
12. Alkaline -- “Pretty Gyal Team”
13. Popcaan — “Addicted"
14. Vybz Kartel & Wizkid — “Wine to di Top"
15. Spice — “Sheet"
16. Shenseea & Sean Paul -- “Rolling"
17. Kranium, et al – “Can’t Believe”

Plus honorable mentions: Gorillaz track remix, Wizkid Drake Popcaan w/e, Kartel "All Aboard," Mavado & Jahmiel "Badness"

and the riddims (in reverse order):
Chicken and Dumplin
Eagle
Humbug
1 Guh
Money Mix
Forever
Mhm Hm
La Vida
World Fete
Genna Bounce

No All Night?

maybe too recent? not sure World Fete belongs on there though

new Busy video is pretty great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6DwAox2hF8

I like World Fete. Mainly for the one song but the Charly Black is kinda charming too.

They missed crazy glue as well. It’s weird to me that gyalis pro wasn’t a much bigger hit. Maybe because of the 92 bpm tempo?

rolling dancehall & reggae 2018