rolling dancehall & reggae 2016

Sorry rob, I know you normally do this but I wanted to get the thread rolling as fast as possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9bQNBWmL1g

Tanto Blacks - Real Rich is a lot of fun.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/dec/30/playlist-best-reggae-dancehall-soca-2015-vybz-kartel-protoje-justin-bieber

Er*n M's look back at 2015

ILM's Rolling Dancehall & Reggae Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist
^Expect updates come February

lol, no problem, really quite happy others are into keeping this going this year

"Real Rich" is great, especially around 2:45

really excited to see more from Dexta Daps this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpcpUYjHP7U

Definitely. Did we talk enough about his *other* 2015 releases? Shabba Madda Pot is still going strong and every time I heard his voice it felt welcome.

Shabba plus "Who Bad" plus, of course, 7Eleven all amazing. Morning Love pretty nice too. don't think I heard anything else I really loved, but probably missed something.

production on this Popcaan ("Fiesty Chat", sic) is an endearing mess:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwprNj1tOyQ

I've been playing Box A K a lot lately. Something about his voice just gets to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do9MBQc0V7E

ooh, yeah he sounds great on that

I'm loving the Wicked Wicked Riddim:
Popcaan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9AqL07qxns

Chi Chi Ching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk2nA3t5-Ns

Govena:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z5omooJZ3E

Also enjoying the Banga Riddim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7YcnyAH6rg

mostly feeling Kranium and Masicka, Beach House. might hit harder with some sunshine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA3X1E0yt4I

making up for ignoring Mavado last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmMZcpE529A

Enjoying the Gyalla Park Riddim:

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

Especially Spice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP3MmlBz8z4

RDX:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NMLgMFv8OU

Razor B:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEF3wIS3Be8

Also Tilt Ova Riddim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RR4yMr-L0Q

(most of the versions sound good on this one)

And this new Dexta Daps, Haunted, is nice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpcpUYjHP7U

Also appreciated Demarco's tribute to J Capri, Fallen Friends:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR_3G06LzCA

some good stuff there longneck. what do we think of this Kartel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeceiJx_C4Q

I like it! Not a-list Kartel but a strong way to open 2016.

I also like this Dec 2015 Kartel track:

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

at this point with Kartel, I tend to get distracted during any given track trying to work out a new theory as to how he is still the most prolific artist in dancehall. anyway, both tracks have something to them, but i almost feel like at this point he's a drain on the system, like his vocals rarely sound *excellent* though he often gets really good riddims that I don't nec hear elsewhere.

Well... viking was excellent all the way through, so I don't necessarily agree with that. As for his mass outpouring... just imagine you're in jail and there's a studio in cell and nothing else to do, lol. I guess Gucci Mane would be the same if only they'd allowed a studio in his cell too. So I guess he feels like the music is what connects him to the outside world? He certainly doesn't sound like a broken man - just about every time he gets on a riddim with other artists he still outshines them.

That being said, these two tracks are not on par with his best 2015 stuff. It's b-level kartel but it's still *good*, y'know?

oh yeah, I meant how he's recording not why, but I suppose it is pretty silly at this point to not just assume he's openly allowed to record in prison, despite official proclamations.

Well he must be, lol.

Ricky Blaze's album dropped today: https://open.spotify.com/album/1GQ3330KR0qWbKIKWfwBeo

there is some really great bass on this so far. respect for Dean Fraser feature. kinda surprised this album is only 28 min long, but Rumors benefitted from being concentrated too

Blak Ryno's "Motive" was the highlight for me, though the Alexus Rose song that I just noticed r|t|c posted on the rnb thread is good too (esp the drums).

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

new Spice, "Born Wid It". Watch this quick, she's usually on top of pulling unauthorized youtubes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toy7cVXweCc

^that whole riddim is a good time: https://soundcloud.com/gazapriince-entertainment/sets/90s-don-dada-riddim-seanizzle-records-2016-gazapriiinceent

Indeed. I find it difficult to get past Busy Signal's version though - it's A LOT of fun.

there is some really great bass on this so far. respect for Dean Fraser feature

ah this song is great. it's almost easy listening.

yeah vintage Fraser tracks on Jammys riddims have kind of a cruiseship quality to them that runs pleasingly against the grain in a rinse of something like the Punany riddim -- this feels like a loving tribute to that exact vibe

new Kranium video for one of the standouts on Rumors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hjt4KNgKC4

there's a ton of good versions on this Cure Pain riddim, not sure which to rec

Jahmiel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v20MG8SNWyA

Mavado:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIt6TJGdTVk

I'm more of a dub fan, what rolling thread is appropriate for posting/consuming it?

i wanna be careful here not to talk out my ass but in reference to the "how is vybz taping in jail": a good friend did a year in jamaica researching the recording history of the country and how the legal system overlaps. She did some work at a jail where they had a functioning recording studio setup and work study programs for inmates to learn how to work the equipment and cut demos. I have no idea if that's par for the course but it does exist.

also: the playlist is up to date with what's available. Back in a month.

Rolling Dancehall and Reggae Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

Xp to octobeard
There are a few but Dub / Reggae: An Idiot's Guide seems to get bumped most often
Xp to ulysses
That's very interesting! Was yr friends research published?

she's written several academic papers and lectured regarding human rights/music in jamaica; the main focus of her research was jamaica as a case study for a vibrant music scene that functions effectively without copyright and the kaleidoscope of creativity that emerges from that matrix
https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/events/luncheon/2011/03/mann

whoa thanks for sharing

Yeah excited to check that out

she spins as DJ Ripley; I really enjoy her sets
https://soundcloud.com/ripley

Jahmiel's "Great Man" has some sweet synth flutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISLJSa63PUA

ricky blaze album is tremendously curated imo

otm, it covers so many bases, though I haven't gotten into "Rodeo" yet.
does anyone know why this Gyptian feature isn't on the album on iTunes (at least in Canada)? It's great, of course, and would also push the album over the 30 minute mark:
https://soundcloud.com/fmerecordings/04-operatah-feat-gyptian-1?in=fmerecordings/sets/ricky-blaze-conquer-the-moment-project

reminds me that the best version of Uptown Julie was also never released:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzQo80LlSHE

I love how on "Apart" he closely mics the almost spoken vocals but then puts a ton of space between her and the mic when she belts it out ~2:10. quite possibly a tried and true production trick but super effective here

The Phantom of the Dancehall riddim is nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD5R5JSI4hM

not bad, but feel like that riddim name led to unrealistic expectations on my part

Christopher Martin kills it on Cure Pain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLeh1IWDEC4

I like this sprightly, sparkly Popcaan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f11cWOVaaQ8

All Inclusive riddim is a jam: https://soundcloud.com/anarchy_ent1/all-inclusive-riddim-mix-february-2016

the fantastic new Chronixx mixtape is as classicist and satisfying as you'd expect. if hearing him sing over vintage Augustus Pablo riddims appeals to you, download this now.
that said, he gets closer to deejaying at times than he has in the past and apart from all the literal roots revival it has "Sell My Gun" which has me pretty excited for his album later this year

My one problem with the Day Off Riddim is that Dexta Daps kills it so much harder than anybody else, lol. It's unfair!

https://soundcloud.com/british-linkz/dexta-daps-chinese-jordan-february-2016

Still stuck on the lovely Day Off Riddim. Sell My Gun is really good too.

okay so so far this year Day Off, Cure Pain and All Inclusive Riddim are all among my absolute favourites. But they also seem to occupy much of the same sonic space. Any thoughts on how you would rate them individually?

heh, no problem, though admittedly I was starting to feel like only forks's intern was reading this thread

Equiknoxx's mix for FACT is excellent: http://www.factmag.com/2016/08/29/equiknoxx-fact-mix/. Anyone listened to their new album, Bird Sound Power? The mix makes me intrigued, but apparently the album is all instrumental, which is kind of yawn and just why? when they obvs know lots of great vocalists.

I don't think any good tracks came out of the Popcaan/Mavado/Demarco/everyone in Kingston according to YouTubers 'feud' so here is Mavado's Progress, which is for some reason on Khaled's new album, instead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lrdVWbNb24

Mavado seems to have dropped the ball in not positioning himself closer to the Drake/Rihanna/Tropical/Afrothing mainstream when he is in the poisition he is in in the US, imo. Also, what is this beef/feud thing aboutthis time, really? Mavado has had two or three okay, four) good tracks this year but no real hits while Popcaan just keeps on bringing it so it all just seems... weird?

The most I have been willing to learn about the 'feud' was reading this Star article: http://jamaica-star.com/article/entertainment/20160829/deejays-feud-heats-mavado-demarco-and-popcaan-drop-new-diss-tracks, and then listening to a few tracks, hearing a lot more "fish" and "batty" talk than I've heard in a long while sigh, and rmde. There's also this, though I don't know if it really clarifies much: http://urbanislandz.com/2016/09/09/mavado-vs-popcaan-a-timeline-of-their-beef/

fwiw Popcaan seems to have realized he had more to lose than gain: https://www.instagram.com/p/BKKrMkqDOFu/, though internet hardmen are taking that as a sign of his weakness of course. Seems telling that Alkaline didn't really bother with it from what I can tell, even though some wistful youtubers were trying to position that track I posted^ as a diss track when I believe it's about a friend of his being murdered.

Christopher Martin's version on the 47th Floor riddim is just delightful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vtk67WA5aE

The whole riddim is a good one to rinse

Definitely. Best new riddim in a good while.

solid ragga vibes on this new Konshens/Rvssian:

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

and his new one for Chan Dizzy bangs even harder than that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpOwPbaOOCo

playlist is updated; we're up to 100+ songs and 5 1/2 hours.

ILM's Rolling Dancehall & Reggae Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

timely!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqOrQFween8

Really enjoying the Loodi riddim atm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50jyn6_rLFA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2DySaJVD-c

Also, the Feel Good riddim is so much fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkJ2WZ7nERY

oh yeah, Busy is also really good on the Terminal riddim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWA9PMTQ1HA

Oh, and Alkaline is just on fire these days: After All, Block and Delete, Spoil You, Extra Lesson, 12 PM...

Did I forget to post Baby Tash on the Loodi riddim? Sorry, on a bus now but it's real nice.

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7MOhYoG33g

My favorite song at the moment is probably Vybz' Emoji though. Has there ever been a songwriter this economical? He invites over with an emoji, she grabs a taxi, and he has sex with her in two different ways before he offers her a soda from the fridge over the course of, what, three lines of verse?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFS5AfEAfJM

Let's hope the recent move to the maximum security prison doesn't mean these will all dry up.

Popcaan's New Fresh Jordans seems to take its cue from the great Nah Idle and also sounds like it's maybe trying to crack the ovo code? I think it's a good look for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQk0rlqMxuM

lol, Fresh Jordans, not New Fresh.

Good call on Loodi. Konshens is good on that one too ("It's All Good").

otm re Alkaline. Has he put out a bad track this year? (don't answer that) The video for City is a nice victory lap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8NKj3-4PEU

As usual I'm only keeping half an eye on Kartel's torrential output, but I dug Real Youth, which I posted upthread, as well as Half Way Tree and I always lol every time Hey Addi pops up on a mix

also ICYMI: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/vybz-kartel-still-ruling-dancehall-after-years-in-prison-w448510
fwiw he still claims he's not recording in prison

Right. His beef records directed at Mavado and Alkaline were recorded by prophesy, obviously.

That is a really good profile btw.

lol yeah tbh I was sort of surprised he stuck to the story. Interesting to read about the appeal and all the alleged errors in his trial

Playlist updated for November.

ILM's Rolling Dancehall & Reggae Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

Interesting year in review from Marvin Sparks--whose podcast (no long talk) is a bit too loose but can be diverting--mostly talking about the disconnect between dancehall's influence on global pop and the lack of global success for JA artists: http://www.factmag.com/2016/12/06/2016-dancehall-domination-charts-underground/

Not seeing much of any dancehall on other year-end lists (nor soca, afropop...)

yeah same, though I'm pretty sure we've noted the same thing for the past several years in a row.

tbf I can't think of any 2016 dancehall albums that belong on anyone's list (afropop on the other hand...). It is a bit sad but predictable seeing stuff like the Equiknoxx and Jubilee albums, or like Fact has Devin di Dakta's "Bubble" on their "club" tracks list but no dancehall actually produced in JA. In terms of reggae, I thought Chronixx was supposed to put out a full-length this year but nothing materialized, and in general the 'roots revival' was much quieter than years past. I haven't seen many tracks lists but I expect they'll mostly bear out Sparks' narrative. The Fader might be an exception if they're not too distracted writing explainers about white supremacy

I just delivered a 2016 albums list with Kartel placing fourth, but I realize other people have terrible taste, so... Anyway I''m getting used to this. The genres I'm into are the ones no one else find interesting. But I did get to review Babes Wodumo
And Heavy-K today in a weekly, and am working on a big Kartel piece for February, so I'm not really complaining.
I would be interested in reading something on the best 2016 riddims soon, though. Guessing Moskato will come out on top most places.

yeah I almost said "maybe with Kartel's album as an exception" but tbh I've never listened to the thing as an album, just heard most if it over time as individual tracks (see also Alkaline's New Level Unlocked). Also for several different reasons I don't realistically expect any US or UK publication to include the new Kartel on a list with like Radiohead...so yeah it's no longer even disappointing really. That said, I would love to see a soca list just to see what I've missed.

longneck, you should link that Kartel piece here when it's out

iirc Large Up usually does a riddims list. I would expect Moskato as well as Cure Pain for sure. Maybe Wicked Wicked too?

Sure, and All Inclusive Riddim. I really like Tropical Punch as well - especially the I-Octane. Those, along with the 47th Floor, Club Life, Car Crash, Crown Love, Day Off, Feel Good, House of Joy, Loodi, Ova Dweet, Red Plate, Skelewu, The Champ, The Terminal, Wet Dreams, Yardman and Zen riddims are the ones I end up sticking with. 90s Don Dada was fun for a while but I hardly play it anymore.

The Soca system of starting the year in september and basically closing it out in february is throwing me for a loop, btw. I can't for the life of me remember which Soca Season 2016 tunes were actually 2016. And I'm just starting to get into the 2017 batch.

Oh, and Success Riddim.

I liked the recent album by Equiknoxx so much, I felt like it needs its own thread: EQUIKNOXX - Bird Sound Power (2016) - exquisite avant-dancehall riddims

Seriously, go check it out now now now

(since they got mentioned again I should clarify that Equiknoxx are in fact Jamaican)

Every time I've tried to listen to this I end up getting annoyed that there aren't any vocalists. I actually quite liked their mix for Fact though, do seek that out. I might post some of their vocal productions on the other thread later as I do agree that they're very talented. Just not sure why they wanted to do a riddim-only album, though perhaps the fact it's on Demdike Stare's label is the answer?

For some reason Pitchfork has put out a video for Chronixx's "Majesty"; it's nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OEaMaO9NfM

and Merry Christmas thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siluvHUzy2k

oof:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQJz43Hrsow

LargeUp's list is out:

1. Vybz Kartel, “Fever”
2. Rihanna feat. Drake, “Work”
3. Konshens, “Bruk Off”
4. Popcaan, “We Still A Win (World Cup)”
5. Alkaline, “City”
6. Drake feat. Popcaan, “Controlla”
7. Jahmiel, “Where Were U”
8. Popcaan, “Ova Dweet”
9. Vybz Kartel, “Western Union”
10. Mavado, “Progress”
11. Charly Blacks, “Gyal You A Party Animal”
12. Dwayne “DJ” Bravo, “Champion”
13. Chi Ching Ching, “Breadfruit (Roast or Fry)”/ Popcaan, “Wicked Man Ting”
14. Spice, “Indicator”
15. Chronixx, “Sell My Gun”
16. Alkaline, “After All”

Plus a bunch of honorable mentions: http://www.largeup.com/2016/12/15/best-dancehall-singles-of-2016/18/

Two mentions of Drake is pretty rmde but this is a really strong list imo. New-to-me DJ Bravo has 33million views on yt

how did I forget how great "Gal.gov" is. are there really no other versions on this riddim?

Well... both of those Drake tracks are pretty undeniable, whatever you might think of Drake. I had simply filed the DJ Bravo track as "yet another Culu Culu track" though. Will have to listen more carefully. And Progress... is not my favorite Mavado track this year. It just sounds old fashioned in the wrong way to me. I much prefer him on the All Inclusive riddim or on Beat & Teach and maybe one or two others. But yeah. Solid list. Curious about their riddims countdown.

Yeah fair enough, I don't really get the fuss about "Controlla" with or without Popcaan, but "Work" was my favorite track to hear all over the city this summer and it def would be odd to not include it. Something like "Luv" would have been a lot less forgivable.

Right. Controlla set a trend... and it works on most dancefloors, still. So I'd say it belongs. I'll have to think a bit tomorrow about what they're leaving out here.

Some thoughts:
1) Why is Popcaan's We Still Ah Win so high on the largeup list? It's one of the Popcaan tracks I've played the least this year.
2) My pick for Alkaline track of the year is probably After All, above One More Time. City is good, but I prefer most of his other singles. Weirdest of all is that the part on Block & Delete on the intro where he goes "instant block and deleeeeeeeete" isn't utilized as a hook. It's easily the most catchy moment of the song, imo.
3) Did Dexta Daps kinda blow it this year, just by not releasing enough stuff, or will we see Haunted or one of his other tracks catch on in 2017? I know I played Shabba Madda Pot weekly at least until october.

afaict Largeup's general rubric for these lists is to take popularity/status as a "single" somewhat into account. Hence "Progress" being on there instead of a stronger Mavado song. Or the one from the Trini cricketer for that matter.

1) I like this tune but yeah it's too high, and I much prefer Nah Idle, maybe even more than Ova Dweet. World Cup did pop up on a bunch of mixes I heard around the Olympics, which could be a factor.
2) I seem to be alone on the board in thinking City is a consummate summer jam--love him in this breezily confident mode--and as much as I love One More Time I think this would be my pick too. Hearing this was the first time I was *really* struck by Alka's now-obvious pop star qualities. That said, After All, 12pm, and My Side of the Story have all been creeping up for me lately though. Formula could be here too. Hell I threw on New Level Unlocked yesterday and enjoyed it back to front.
3) They mentioned in the intro that Shabba Madda Pot was huge this year, but they'd included it on last year's list so it didn't fit through the Charly Blacks loophole. Haunted came out in early January iirc, so that seems like kind of a long shot to me. I feel like it's pretty common for dancehall artists to follow up a hot streak with total silence--I remember once being worried that Popcaan had blown it after the initial wave of Only Man and Ravin. Or like the other day I was fretting about Chronixx and then the next day he dropped a new video and announced a huge tour and an album release for 2017.

Trigger Finger would work too, lol. Or even Chinese Jordans. Honestly though, none of them are as good as Shabba Madda Pot or 7 Eleven. That's what I meant by stating that he kinda blew it. Still, when I listened through the new Road Block Riddim the other day and Dexta's version came on, my first thought was literally «how the heck didn't this guy rule 2016?» My best guess would be that he just didn't release enough music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSYRFcut1E

Uhhhh... Road Show Riddim, obviously.

I think he'll be okay. Ignoring release dates, he basically had a major hit in 2015 and followed it up with a big hit in 2016. Maybe he would have risen even further if the video for Chinese Jordan wasn't so terrible.

Genuinely surprised that Fact picked "Ova Dweet" as their track of the year. I'm not sure I totally buy their narrative of the song encapsulating the year of pop-dancehall symbiosis, and I think the Red Bull Culture Clash/Mixpak figures too large in their assessment, but respect for actually putting some weight behind the idea of dancehall being important this year. I lolled at the Fader spending a couple paragraphs bemoaning Popcaan's like 90 seconds of material being cut from Controla and then not putting any of his actual tracks on their 115-item list (c.f., pitchfork letting andy beta say afrobeats was the sound of the year in their Alicia Keys writeup and then putting zero actual african songs on their list).

Well at least Ova Dweet is *that* good imo. I've played it since it dropped and it always brings good energy in whatever context. It's easily the 2016 popcaan song I'd play first to a non-dancehall-knowledgeable friend, and I'd be happy to put it on a top 20 songs of the year list. So... nice move by Fact. However, the whole Culture Clash thing barely registered with me - as I watched some highlights via youtube that didn't translate too well. I guess you had to be there. And yeah, spot on about Fader and Pitchfork.

tbc Ova Dweet is one of my favorite songs of the year. I just wasn't remotely expecting Fact of all places to make it number one! not that I read it all that often

Somehow, Largeup managed to leave All Inclusive out of their riddims of the year round up. [Trump] Weak! [/Trump]
http://www.largeup.com/2016/12/22/biggest-dancehall-riddims-2016/

rolling dancehall & reggae 2017

Playlist is finalized for the year.

ILM's Rolling Dancehall & Reggae Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist