rolling dancehall & reggae 2021

I’m adding all the tracks posted here to this integrated Rolling Spotify playlist for all the Caribbean music threads (soca, dancehall, reggaeton/dembow/urbano, Martinique, other caribbopop). we’re 77(!) tracks in, feel free to follow:

ILM rolling Caribbean vibes 🥁🥁🥁

Enjoying these two Aurelia Day songs that just popped up on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuydCAG2cTM
Aurelia Day - Huntress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbgGZnSY9PQ
Aurelia Day - All These Neighbours

*Aurelia Dey, in both cases 😕

aw "Scripture" is really great...apart from some of those lyrics imho

not sure I've heard of Aurelia Dey before--she's Ghanaian? (or UK?)

I like this summery new Intence "Walk Out"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea7WUPHorp4

lol people don't read this thread much huh, here's the actual Intence video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DkeWWJKjPo

we were all waiting with bated breath for your big reveal

XD

I guess Projexx being on that Juls song almost makes it work anyway!

so help me out here rob, which of my ILM Spotify playlists should it go on? rolling Caribbean or rolling Afro? this is just too tough...

Aurelia Dey is (Ghanaian-)Swedish btw. don’t know what ”The Dancehall College” in Gothenburg is, but she runs it apparently.

I guess I'd go African since Juls is the main credited artist, but these Black Atlantic collabs do trouble taxonomies nicely!

Hm wonder if I can get a Fulbright to go to Dey's college :)

...and wouldn’t you know it, they also do afrobeats: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQpfZIqLUw9KzU13e9vye-Qz1UpdxcCzCX6hg&usqp=CAU

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLC2u04pdvS/?igshid=z3f6v56mucnp

(only noticing now you had already posted the Juls track on Rolling Afropop)

Nicki Minaj jumped on Skillibeng's "Crocodile" for some reason

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJl77xMgGpU

🚨💉OH LORD it's the song of the summer💉🚨

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

Chi Ching Ching - "Vaccine"

(CW: that video has some of the most ott daggering I've ever seen)

Ding Dong is on the same Stadic/Johnny Blaz riddim (called Freestyle):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmjjhAllP5U

"Yo Pull Up"

CCC definitely deserves a prize for coming up with the vaccine/fuck scene double entendre

(maybe he didn’t come up with it, I was afraid to google)

loving vaccine

question: if amapiano ever hits dancehall, will we call it a) “jamapiano” or b) “ganjapiano”?
― Long Tall Arsetee & the Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), vrijdag 19 februari 2021 20:22

Voted raggapiano
― rob, vrijdag 19 februari 2021 20:35

can't wait for... shabbapiano
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), vrijdag 19 februari 2021 21:55

bambamapiano
― rob, vrijdag 19 februari 2021 21:58

while we're not quite there yet...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjpTZwfU8IY

...this is IzyBeats producing Masego's "Yebo/Sema"

That’s really nice

Govana's "Karen" is a banger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k16Wa_wkVQ

maybe the only time a video interrupting the song has paid off?

Maybe. But yeah that’s a catchy banger

lol there are probably zero instances of that trick truly paying off (I was at least amused by Govana tucking his gun under his armpit), and it's an esp annoying choice when the track isn't available anywhere else yet

boom bang, it’s a total pounder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXq0bS4W9xw
Konshens ft. Davido • Boom Bang

Skillibeng is just alright on this, but the riddim is neat, little flashes of fusion guitar, some tabla at the end, cool stuff:

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

"Money Tree"

really like Skeng's floaty, minimalist, elegant "Brrrp" (technically 2020 but I missed it):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48-ymyX6PlU

also slept on this as Iwaata hasn't always done much for me, but here's another malevolently simple riddim:

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

"Clip Tall"

this newer Skeng "Street Cred" is also v striking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZkWgx-ckuM

his other tunes are worth a listen too

Intence "Yahoo Boyz" is blowing up for good reason:

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

this song is also a hit, an interesting take on trap + reggae. maybe the first JA production that sounds influenced by some of the Trinibad dripping guitars sound to me (also the global pop bad mood):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnSf_-k3OgE

Nation Boss "Humans"

Great to hear Di Genius riffing on late 80s/early 90s digital ragga (possibly a "Telephone Love" sample?) on Shenseea's "Run Run":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdo8aWBq3tA

Oh shit Busy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I31AFzC9euo

"Bruk Down Di Bed"

(Lol at my streaming service autofilling a search for this as "busy signal bruk down in bed")

SiriusXM moves reggae channel the Joint to online only and not on car radios and replaced it with Bob Marley hits channel

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20210704/there-one-love-two-siriusxm-satellite-reggae-channels?fbclid=IwAR0IOiTSkUk_-ftUXqSmMSv4zKmXkd0F87m81pmYKaO5R-1aMrAIG-8lydg

I've never listened to Sirius so can't say I truly care about that, but I do wonder why you'd want a radio channel that literally only plays Bob Marley (or any single artist). Is there someone out there who would really be annoyed to hear Toots or Peter Tosh or Jimmy Cliff interrupting their obsessive Marley listening?

my guess is there's tons of ppl who know a bunch of Bob Marley but no other reggae and when they turn on the radio they want to hear something they already know

"run run" is a baaanger

It is! This is also p amazing:

SHENSEEA HAS NO CHILL LMAAAOOO 😭😭😭😭😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/x1HZbYUpBa

— Akeba 👑🐝 (@kebakw) July 24, 2021

I love how Jamaica can just perpetually put out the simplest, funnest stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9c4E7DyTJo

Laa Lee, "Dirt Bounce"

That's great !

I also liked his Tip Inna It, but be warned: some of his other tracks veer into comedy territory that might not be everyone's cup of tea

it occurs to me that Dirt Bounce is pretty damn amapiano-ish

and Tip Inna It deserves to be posted:

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

Stripped down dancehall Riddims sometimes sounding similar to minimalistic South African keyboard ones

yeah unfortunately I don't have the technical knowledge to analyze (what I hear as) the similarities, but the repeating synth horns (especially that), the drums, and the fun-but-dark vibe made me think of it. Obvs no idea if it's a direct influence plus of course ama is likely influenced by dancehall in some way

Spice's video for "Send It Up" is an event:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gMEYsTtZAY

(song's good, very does what it says on the tin)

The medical theme seems very present in dancehall, I can't help thinking back about that vaccine clip :D

ha that connection hadn't even occurred to me! lol Vaccine is still so amazing, you have to wonder if Chi has ever had a check-up, that's not how stethoscopes work man

Shenseea's album is looking super promising as a big pop move:

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

"Be Good"

https://www.worldareggae.com/interviews/exclusive-interview-with-taj-weekes/

Heard St Lucia high-pitched reggae singer Taj Weekes from his latest album Pause. Roots reggae but more than cliche. Plus he’s involved in lots of good deed efforts — with Unicef; he said in a WPFW interview I heard last night that he’s bringing shoes to Ghana

i thought this was dope af

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVWKGC3zgbM

https://riddimchango.bandcamp.com/album/freedom-ep

that's great--I think Jordan would esp dig it?

I've been grumping a bit about music-in-2021 on other threads, but this was an exceptionally great year for dancehall. I'm travelling now but will post a list at some point

Please do, rob - I haven’t listened to nearly as much dancehall this year as I usually do.

It might take me a while to make a list, so in the meantime here's a batch of mostly recent tunes I really like. Assume these videos are all grotesquely violent.

Jahshii, Shift Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28wbnPU1vEc

Prince Swanny, Soldier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOjqRcq2I-w

Skeng + Intence (billed as Yeng), Heaven Passport

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTbbdh_SI1A

Skeng (easily the most exciting new artist in 2021, hasn't missed yet iirc), Curves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUH9hz9mEA

Chronic Law, Organ Trade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-mpOhvQ_F4

Jahvillani, Wicked & Bad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kQg__YFe0c

It's been reported on social media that Mikey Chung has passed away. RIP Mikey

https://www.reggae-vibes.com/articles/obituary/2021/12/mikey-mao-chung-has-died-1954-2021/

rolling dancehall & reggae 2022