Dancehall
Dancehall is a type of
Jamaican reggae which developed in the early
1970s. The
style is characterized by a
DJ singing and
rapping or
toasting over raw and danceable reggae music (riddims). Many of the lyrics in the early dancehall were crude and "slack", though in the late
1990s, this changed as many artists converted to
Rastafarianism and changed their lyrical focus to "conscious". Various varieties of dancehall achieved some crossover success outside of Jamaica during the mid- to late-
1990s. Also some Dancehall-
tunes (voiced riddims) become popular during last summer, especially
Sean Paul's
Get Busy.
Bibliography
- Stolzoff, Norman C.: Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. Durham, London: Duke University Press 2000. ISBN 0-8223-2478-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-8232-2514-4 (paperback)