Slaves 2 Di Riddim: some essential riddims

Even though its the vocal style and the lyrics of the Dj that get the 'forwards' Dancehall, especially today, is nothing without the "riddim" track, which traces its lineage back to the foundation days of dub. A plethora of riddims exist, but these in my mind, will be talked about for as long as the genre is discussed. Waht are your thoughts?

"Sleng Teng"
"Diwali"
"Drop Leaf"
"Playground"
Backyard"
"Joyride"
"Pepperseed"
"Military"
"Bhangra"
"Streetsweeper"

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas. After Fridasy, I'll start some provisional lists

What is dancehall?

A harder question to answer than it might first appear.
The term 'dancehall' or dance hall predates the genre now so recognized by many years, and of course also refers to the physical space in which music aimed primarily at motivating dancing was presented.

Its current usage emerged some time between 1979-83( a wide span I know, but till now, we still haven't pinned down 'reggae' as yet, so I don't feel too bad) and as such encompasses tunes recordings making extensive use of rhythmic aspects of reggae, drawing from dub as well as increasingly other sources, and featuring extnesively - though not exclusively - the rapping/toasting which we refer to as deejaying (and which was the main wellspring of rap in the US).

That's my best approximation of it. Let's see how the choices match up to the terms. Remember to post your choices for the top 100 or email me at liveplug22@gmail.com

The Greatest [or Gr8est]

We're all familiar, no doubt with Muhammad Ali's exuberant claim "I'm the greatest!" following his victory over Joe Frazier in 1975 ( a quick aside: the city of Cairo was intitially considered, but obviously "Thriller in Cairo" didn't quite have the same ring to it).

But waht makes a record great? And more tothe point of this project is what makes a dancehall record great.
Commercial success and popularity are importnat facotors,ut they're fsr from the only criteria.
Dancehall, even though it hasn't in my opinion, reached the creative heights of reggae and other genres, remains vital at least in output, and with about 30 years or so of recordings (see next post), it has gathered mroe than enough material for one to eschew the "dweet and dash e iway" mentality of artists, producers and audiences today.

though highly subjective, this list will factor in perceived impact on large numbers of persons, as wel las the quality and prescience of the ideas involved.

next time: dancehall

Some artistes to consider

As I've already stated, the choices that make the cut for this list will certainly leave some people pissed off. But, whatever the choice, the top recordswill certainly have to include work from the following:

Beenie Man;
Bounty Killa;
Yellow man;
Elephant Man;
Shabba ranks;
Sizzla;
Capleton;
Beres;
Buju Banton;
Shaggy;
Sean Paul;

There are, of course, 'many many' other acts who released records that I consider essential to dancehall (Chaka Demus & Pliers and the Innocent Kru being just two that spring to mind) but 10 each from the above list would in fact take us over the Hundred.

in my next post, I'll try to define some key terms like "gr8est" "dancehall" and - yes - even "records"

Danceahll's 100 Gr8est records

Here I go again. Taking on something monumental
Of the literally millions of dancehall tracks, how does one pick
100 essential recordings - and without pissing off a lot of people?
Impossible, I guess, but I 'm going to do it anyway.
i am however, seeking your help. Your input on the records that made dancehall dancehall, and also the new and coming classics, will help to fill out this project.

Fire away, and elt's see what kind of list I'll come up with and if our selections match