When Reggae Went Rap
Posted By Ben W. on October 26, 2009
A new genre of music that turned up around 1991. Its base elements weren’t terribly original. But the ingredients combined to form something so fresh and new it dominated the airwaves for the better part of the next half-decade.
Grunge, right?
Wrong.
Dancehall.
Dancehall in 1991 had the almost-other-worldly spiritual mysticism of reggae. It had the sex appeal of quiet storm soul music. It had the righteous anger and and street poetry of Golden Era rap. And maybe most importantly it had the unparalleled production of early-to-mid-90s hip hop and R&B — built on breakbeats, samples and loops and not live instrumentation.
The result was something that didn’t quite fit in with either traditional Jamaican reggae or American hip hop. But it was the very hybrid nature of the sound that made it so exciting. And surprisingly, it had no problem making money either.
Led by charismatic young stars such as Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, Supercat and Shaggy, dancehall broke worldwide in the early 90s and was a staple of American urban radio for the next five years.
Unfortunately, dancehall was not without its faults. American gangsta rap helped imbue dancehall with a healthy dose of misogyny, blatant materialism and sometimes-absurd violence. Even more troubling was a strain of homophobia in some of the music that bordered on the fascist (probably more a product of Jamaican street culture than any kind of American rap influence).
So it’s complicated. Like any form of pop music.
The good stuff is amazing. The bad stuff is laughable.
We’re gonna to focus on the good stuff this week on almostfourstars. It’s Early 90s Dancehall — when reggae went rap — all week on the 12:12 Tuners.
So go check it out. Maybe it will remind you of some classic singles you haven’t heard in far too long. Or, even better, we’ll introduce you to some of the best (and most underrated) music of the 1990s. Either way, enjoy!
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