Under Water / Under Fire also sounding pretty great, especially since I've been rinsing Ramping Shop lately
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:27 (five years ago) link
haha yeah it's probably the number one song I can think of that I would never play for anybody else
― rob, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:28 (five years ago) link
I mean "heteronormative" doesn't even really do it (in)justice!
on a less problematic front, I'm about to start a thread for Jada Kingdom who I only just listened to for the first time today and I am immensely excited about
― rob, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:31 (five years ago) link
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:37 (five years ago) link
Will check out Jada Kingdom though.
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:40 (five years ago) link
that's interesting. I've tended to think of the homophobic bookends as more like disconnected ad libs--meme-like, throat-clearing asides that were de rigueur at the time--but obvs the rest of the track's pornographic performance of the wonders of hetero sex *is* the other side of the coin
― rob, Thursday, 3 May 2018 19:44 (five years ago) link
When you listen to the supposed “clean” version, most of the lewdness is scrambled, but those “bookends” are left proudly intact - leaving the listener (me anyway) with an extra dirty taste in their mouth. Talking about rinsing...
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 3 May 2018 20:05 (five years ago) link
ugh, I have not heard that version, and that definitely positions those lines as integral
― rob, Thursday, 3 May 2018 20:17 (five years ago) link
in fresher news, this piece is worth a look: http://www.vulture.com/2018/04/women-are-keeping-dancehall-fresh.html. I would like to think we no longer need to mention "Bam Bam" in these kinds of pieces, but I get it.
I'm curious what ILM makes of Bad Gyal...not sure I've seen her mentioned despite topping FACT's tracks list last year. I was underwhelmed by whichever song that was, but "Candela" bangs and I just put Worldwide Angel on and it's dope so far
― rob, Thursday, 3 May 2018 20:26 (five years ago) link
Wait... has Spice jumped on the Zinc Roof riddim? Or am I reading that wrong?
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Thursday, 3 May 2018 21:00 (five years ago) link
Yessss to Jada Kingdom! Unwanted” and “Love Situations” are great.
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 3 May 2018 22:00 (five years ago) link
So is “Better Than That” with Govana. I trust you’ll be posting them on that dedicated thread!
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 3 May 2018 22:02 (five years ago) link
longneck: no, that's right! it's a direct answer to Under Water (she even mentions Kartel at one point)
breastcrawl: "Better Than That" is the one I heard first and I was like, who is this female singer I've never clocked before? and then I watched her videos, which are pretty bananas. also, Govana has a handful of good recent tracks; "Baked Bean" stood out but I need to revisit a few others
I will start a Jada Kingdom thread when I get a longer moment (maybe a Bad Gyal one too? idk, every now and then I remember we don't have a thread for Alkaline, but the board is pretty anemic these days)
― rob, Friday, 4 May 2018 00:21 (five years ago) link
Oh, NICE! Haven’t seen it at my usual outlets but I’m guessing it will be on Robbo Ranx today at the very least.
And yeah, Jada Kingdom is pretty great. Will be checking for her.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 4 May 2018 06:10 (five years ago) link
Sat on the bus yesterday in front of a lady who was complaining that her kids overrate Alkaline to the detriment of "real legends" like Vybz Kartel.
Felt a million years old.
― Daniel_Rf, Friday, 4 May 2018 09:59 (five years ago) link
nice of them to drop this right when I've been keenly missing J Capri:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtzSFztgzsg
new solo Shenseea is nice too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn8KVlJgCaw
― rob, Tuesday, 19 June 2018 14:08 (five years ago) link
Shenseea is delightful also I’m late to the party but RDX is deeply my shit and they make me smile so hard
― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Saturday, 21 July 2018 03:34 (five years ago) link
I don’t know what RDXs profile is like in the grand scheme of dancehall but I look forward to each single. The squeaky bed springs of “Grab” are my favorite sound of ‘18.
― Mungolian Jerryset (bendy), Saturday, 21 July 2018 04:44 (five years ago) link
💀💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/PLLaVnIe1t— NewBalance🤘🏾 (@tahjxxn) June 7, 2018
― rob, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 03:59 (five years ago) link
Lol!
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 04:18 (five years ago) link
oh man... they need to keep that in
― Scritti Vanilli - The Word Girl You Know It's True (dog latin), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 07:33 (five years ago) link
busy's sense of melody is peerless. I'm kind of surprised more JA videos don't pull this rewind trick but he earns it here ("one way"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-cK7VZ3Bmo
― rob, Monday, 13 August 2018 15:11 (five years ago) link
love this new Jada Kingdom/"Banana" after having second thoughts about my initial burst of enthusiasm for her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WrPfTzWzoQ
― rob, Monday, 13 August 2018 15:20 (five years ago) link
while I'm in a posting mood, how did I miss this Mavado on the Levels riddim?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZpg3D2NddM
― rob, Monday, 13 August 2018 23:38 (five years ago) link
Rygin King seems to be blowing up a bit; I quite like "Tuff"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XvJYYE2ePM
― rob, Thursday, 16 August 2018 15:16 (five years ago) link
This (oldish) rolling stone piece on Rihanna's supposedly in-progress dancehall album is super interesting: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/inside-rihannas-upcoming-dancehall-album-700930/#!
― rob, Tuesday, 21 August 2018 20:04 (five years ago) link
signs of life from Alkaline (and Lee Milla w/ a great riddim):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jdmj4Qw3rc
― rob, Friday, 31 August 2018 00:57 (five years ago) link
Sounds promising on first listen.“Yaadie Fiesta” was never posted, was it? Not exactly peak Alkaline, but I like it just the same:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaU9z3jt2CM
― breastcrawl, Friday, 31 August 2018 02:23 (five years ago) link
yeah that's a good one. I also like "Mirage," "Load Up" (both posted upthread I think) and "Juggernaut" wasn't bad iirc, so tbf 2018 hasn't been a total washout for him or anything--I just miss the feeling of 2016/17 when he was releasing good to great tunes at a steady clip. I expect he'll regroup though
― rob, Friday, 31 August 2018 13:30 (five years ago) link
I actually think he's been consistently very good this year. Fine whine is dope,and Perfect is good too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh-3-h3wPtQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaXsnHxoYgo
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Friday, 31 August 2018 13:39 (five years ago) link
oh yeah I had "Fine Whine" on my shortlist too but I hadn't heard "Perfect"--it's nice! I should probably check out that whole DJ Frass project
― rob, Friday, 31 August 2018 13:56 (five years ago) link
Well I'm jumping around, but so far this is way better than a producer showcase has any right to be. I might add "Mamacita" to the Alkaline list, Shenseea's "Instruction" is good if not exactly lyrically groundbreaking for her, and I'd missed this electric Mavado track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjPg4305aNc
― rob, Friday, 31 August 2018 14:07 (five years ago) link
I can tell I haven't listened to Robbo Ranx in a long while because I've never heard this fired up Shaggy track
― rob, Friday, 31 August 2018 14:09 (five years ago) link
okay this turned to mostly mediocre sap after the Jahmiel track ("Perfect" should be on the first half)
― rob, Friday, 31 August 2018 14:19 (five years ago) link
I don't really know where else to post Karol Conka, who's still preparing her new album 5 years after Batuk Freak, but what's for sure is that the delay is not for absence of talent : everything I've heard (Maracutaia, Lala etc) is just as good (if not better-sounding) than her debut, which is very high praise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPvEAU8U-I8(clip intro lasts 1 min)
― Nabozo, Tuesday, 9 October 2018 13:27 (five years ago) link
Liking this new Dexta Daps, “Pleasure”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=986GlOku-dc
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 23 October 2018 21:34 (five years ago) link
I like that Dexta--is the rest of that tape any good?
Spice's new anti-colorism anthem is trending at #1 on youtube right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXdl3mpCbz4
― rob, Wednesday, 24 October 2018 14:14 (five years ago) link
Nice.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 16:47 (five years ago) link
Kranium on a classic Kelly-esque riddim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IJsBHv8vVo
― rob, Saturday, 27 October 2018 14:13 (five years ago) link
He had me at "Early in the morning"
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Saturday, 27 October 2018 23:15 (five years ago) link
rob, the Dexta EP is just three tracks, they’re all nice, but “Pleasure” is the best.
― breastcrawl, Sunday, 28 October 2018 21:31 (five years ago) link
That Spice song, Black Hypocrisy, is a tune of the year, right?
― Scritti Vanilli - The Word Girl You Know It's True (dog latin), Sunday, 4 November 2018 21:31 (five years ago) link
It's really great and the fake skin-bleaching "stunt" (a critique/interpretation that strikes me, a white non-Jamaican, as a deliberate misreading) seems to have paid off in terms of attention--it's at 2.7M views already.
I love that she also dropped the "Under Fire" video shortly afterward, in case you were worried she'd gone too woke
― rob, Monday, 5 November 2018 15:04 (five years ago) link
The whole mixtape goes hard.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Monday, 5 November 2018 16:00 (five years ago) link
I mean... "my pussy pretty like Shenseea face" - lol!
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Monday, 5 November 2018 20:13 (five years ago) link
btw, I think Rygin King's Tuff, posted above, might be in my top 5 this year.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 08:56 (five years ago) link
If you mean top 5 dancehall, I think it's my number 1. I don't think I've even mildly enjoyed any of Rygin's other songs, but Tuff is sublime! Tbh I have a very poor sense this year of what's genuinely popular in JA. I know Tuff was big, but is there a contender for biggest tune this year? As well as Forever did, I don't think any one track has emerged as its hit.
I made a post a week or so ago with a bunch of Aidonia and Govana tunes but it got eaten--anyway, those two have had great years. Put "VVS" alongside "Tuff" as examples of dancehall responding to trap in an exciting way.
I didn't have time to listen to much, but the first few tracks on that Spice tape were a blast.
― rob, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 13:32 (five years ago) link
damn I'd forgotten how gorgeous the netflixxx riddim is
― rob, Tuesday, 6 November 2018 21:42 (five years ago) link
feeling the Rygin King tune. Excellent, original use of autotune on that one and the production is sweet
― Scritti Vanilli - The Word Girl You Know It's True (dog latin), Tuesday, 6 November 2018 21:58 (five years ago) link
I meant top 5 overall, actually. It's just so... life affirming.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Wednesday, 7 November 2018 09:40 (five years ago) link
OK thinking about dog latin's poll suggestion, I made a little list of tracks. I have a bunch of disclaimers but first here's the list. They're not ranked but I divided them into an upper and lower tier:
First TierRygin King “Tuff”Popcaan “Bulletproof”Koffee “Toast”Alkaline “Yaadie Fiesta”Busy Signal “One Way”Shenseea x Konshens x Rvssian “Hard Drive”Konshens “Turn Around”Kranium “No Odda”Popcaan “Lef My Gun”Masicka “They Don’t Know”
Second TierGovana x Jada Kingdom “Better Than That”Jada Kingdom “Banana”Govana “One N Move”Popcaan “Family”Mavado “Dress to Impress”Shenseea “Pon Mi”Spice “Black Hypocrisy”Vybz Kartel “Under Water”Aidonia “VVS”Alicai Harley “Naah Done”
― rob, Saturday, 8 December 2018 17:12 (five years ago) link
The big disclaimer is I haven't thought about this too much, nor have I made an effort to find anything I missed. This was also a year where I heard a lot of good songs from favorite artists but rarely any clear classics, so in a bunch of cases I'd be open to alternates: Alkaline (I just love that riddim), Spice (as a white person I feel weird big-upping BH), Aidonia, Shenseea (tbh I'm not sure she put out a truly great song this year), and I still don't know which track on Forever is my favorite.
― rob, Saturday, 8 December 2018 17:32 (five years ago) link
BH is a monumental song but I must admit that other songs, like Romantic Mood and Genie, are a lot more fun to listen to.
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Saturday, 8 December 2018 23:16 (five years ago) link
Is any dancehall crossing over to other year end music lists? At quick glance not seeing any in Pitchfork top 100 tracks list— also no soca or afrobeats
― curmudgeon, Monday, 10 December 2018 15:44 (five years ago) link
The Popcaan album is the only dancehall I've seen on a list. Frankly, I wouldn't expect anything else to appear--it's been a somewhat quiet year.
― rob, Monday, 10 December 2018 15:49 (five years ago) link
Why did you guys hide this Spice track from us all year? (and why is it not on the album?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOtj1aiHRw8
Spice • Tik Tak
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 22 December 2018 21:52 (five years ago) link
annual thanks to rob, longneck and co itt for keeping up with what’s going on. annual commitment to look into this thread more often! looking fwd to making my way through the list rob.
― Fizzles, Monday, 31 December 2018 10:54 (five years ago) link
thanks Fizzles! I just spent ten days in Trinidad & Tobago and now really want to tweak that list. If nothing else, it's now obvious that "Silence" is the people's choice off Forever and hearing it booming out of various speakers' the whole trip made it clear why.
this new Rygin King "Powerful" is quite good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OrpJCditas
― rob, Monday, 31 December 2018 15:01 (five years ago) link
I might have dismissed "Tik Tak" as a little too Spice-by-numbers when it came out, but it sounds nice this morning.
I'm not sure if it was being in the Caribbean or year-end second-guessing, but lots of things are grabbing me harder this week. There's a bunch of Alkaline, Masicka, and Rygin King that I'd put on that list now, e.g.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWgD_IG46gE
Ding Dong should probably be on there somewhere too.
I think this Aidonia was in a post that got eaten:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKVCA_iJcoI
― rob, Monday, 31 December 2018 15:24 (five years ago) link
rolling dancehall & reggae 2019
― rob, Thursday, 3 January 2019 16:13 (five years ago) link