Has the quality and/or quantity of good dancehall diminished this year or is it lack of interested posters?

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my interest has definitely dwindled, but i'm not sure if it's lack of good product - i can't remember a single song or riddim from the Ragga Ragga Ragga 2004 and i don't know if there have been any other full releases - or is it lack of contributions from the usual sources. tim finney's still around, right? but stelfox and prima are gone (no?). last year there were tons of favorite riddim threads, i couldn't tell you a single one from this year. was it just a passing fad or is it just me?

― JaXoN (JasonD), Friday, 19 November 2004 05:48 (twenty-one years ago)

The problem is that we're all batty boys.

― Every country has their stupid (AaronHz), Friday, 19 November 2004 05:51 (twenty-one years ago)

A combination of things for me: I overdosed back in the first half of this year, mainly, plus I've not been around at my parent's place so much so it's been harder to track stuff down (also searching for ragga takes some patience to search for). Which means that while I could make maybe three or four CD-Rs of really good stuff from the first half of 2004 I'd be hardpressed to fill one of stuff since then.

There may also have been a quality drop-off, I'm not sure. Certainly it had been starting to feel like the constant development and intensification had plateaued for a while.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 19 November 2004 06:53 (twenty-one years ago)

This is the tracklisting for the VP Records Strictly the Best year end compilation that's about to drop. I usually am familiar with a handful of tracks when it's released due to hip hop radio or club spins. I'm only familiar with two tracks here.

1. CAN'T SATISFY HER - I WAYNE
2. LONELY GIRL - BASCOM X
3. RISE TO THE OCCASION - SIZZLA
4. MARIJUANA - RICHIE SPICE
5. STOP (VIBES REMIX) - SOLTEX FEAT.FIRE LINKS
6. MOVE YA BODY - NINA SKY FEAT.JABBA (REMIX WITH VYBZ KARTEL)
7. I'VE GOT YOUR MAN (REMIX) - LADY SAW & REMY MARTIN
8. TEK WEH YU GAL - COCOA TEA
9. THERE FOR YOU - BERES HAMMOND
10. I SEE GIRLS - TANTO METRO & DEVONTE
11. BUN BAD MIND - ELEPHANT MAN
12. CONSUMING - CAPLETON
13. WE'LL BE BURNING - SEAN PAUL
14. IDIOT THING THAT - ASSASSIN
15. SOLID AS A ROCK - T.O.K
16. DONE A READY - MACKA DIAMOND
17. IN HEAVEN - DA'VILLE
18. BACK IN THE DAYS - MARCIA GRIFFITHS

The Coolie riddim was last year, right?

― pheNAM (pheNAM), Friday, 19 November 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I think compared to last year there probably has been a quality drop off, BUT I base this opinion solely on the big 3 comps (the two Greensleeves and the one VP) seem a bit weaker than last year (ignoring Vybz) and to my knowledge no essential single artists albums have been dropped (is TOK not going to release an LP this year?) But since last year was one of the strongest dancehall year in recent memory (esp. in the popular consciousness) a slight drop is probably not unexpected.

And the reason why there are less dancehall posts here is that a lot of the original dancehall obsessives don't post here anymore (Stelfox only posts to point out that we are all overrating MIA.)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 19 November 2004 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm overjoyed about the influx of BOOM, BOOM, BOOM BOOM one-bar clave rhythms in hip-hop/pop. Thanks dancehall.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 19 November 2004 16:14 (twenty-one years ago)

funnily enough I can listen to digital radio now but I missed most of 1xtra's dancehall show last night. I got to hear a couple of gd things...overall, I've been far too busy lately.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 19 November 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay forget everything I said about dancehall previously on this thread and go buy, beg, borrow or steal TOK's freaking unbelievably ridiculously great "Gal Yuh A Lead" (it's on The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2004.) Among other things (fantastic rhythm, TOK being their amazing selves, background whoops, etc) it has this mindmeltingly pants-creamingly amazing wordless timestretched vocoded hook which just makes the whole song. Easily the best dancehall track I've heard this year (or maybe even last year.) Apparently produced by Bobby Konders. GO FIND!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Although according to VP's website this was released a year ago on The Wanted riddim comp. Either way, it's amazing.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha ha Alex have you heard the Sizzla track on Wanted - "Love & Affection" AKA Best Track Ever?

"Gal Yuh A Lead" is great though, yes (not as good as "Sex On My Mind" though). TOK are always consistent - where's their album?

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know, but they have been pure greatness lately. I didn't even know this rhythm existed. It's amazing.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:49 (twenty-one years ago)

It's a fabulous riddim - pretty subtle so at first you underrate it, but it's so hypnotic and sultry and glowering - i could spend all day talking about its groove (and did I think somewhere on Skykicking). I spent a lot of last year replaying "Love & Affection" over and over and over...

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I am downloading that Sizzla track as we speak. Is Voice of Jamaica worth picking up? Sizzla (and Capleton actually) are so consistently great (for like the past 8 years) but I don't generally buy their album cuz Sizzla esp. releases so many.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Great dancehall choons of 2004:

1= Marvia Providence "Hear my cry o lord" (Armour of god riddim)
1= Elephant Man "Bun bad mind" (Armour of god riddim)
3 Mr Vegas and Irishman "Never leave you lonely" (Red Alert riddim)
4 Vybz Cartel and Beenie Man "Breast Specialist" (scoobay riddim)
5 Sizzla - "Love and affection"

Probably not as good as '03, but this year has some amazing melodic dancehall - those first three are all singalong tunes with lovely choruses.

― Jacob (Jacob), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Is the Armour Of God riddim the same as the Tabernacle riddim? Cos I fucken love the latter. Oh wait, I'm on my parents' cable modem equipped computer right now so why don't I check...

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 05:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay this Sizzla track is great and maybe it is a grower, but right now I can't agree that it is within a mile of the TOK one.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 06:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex don't force me to start a logistical beatdown.

Of course I think it's a bit of a pattern with dancehall riddims that the first voicing one hears often seems like the best.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 06:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex don't force me to start a logistical beatdown.

Bless your heart. ;-)

An ILX-curated dancehall box set/mp3 CDR of the decade would, I think, be essential listening.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 06:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha Tim it doesn't have the "mindmeltingly pants-creamingly amazing wordless timestretched vocoded hook"!?!? How can it better?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 06:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually it may not be wordless. It may be GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD but I can't really tell. It might as well be wordless.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 06:31 (twenty-one years ago)

The chorus of the TOK track is amazing, yes. But then Sizzla doesn't need weird synth augmentations to bust out in a David Byrne-stylee: "Oh aw ow I like the way you live" sounding like an uncontrolled cancerous growth of syllables metastisizing in front of yer ears.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay so that last bit is admittedly a case of self-parody on my part (but then again when is it not etc.)

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 12:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I love Sizzla, but in this particular case I love the weird synth augmentations more (esp. with TOK in the background chanting "GAL YUH A".) It's infectious (I think I've listened to the track like 20 times.)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)

when ilx underwent the 2 week outage, we were still covering dancehall pretty regularly. in its absence, i went to 1xtra and its playlists, downloaded a bunch of tracks, found nothing spectacular. when ilm returned, it didn't bring its dancehall fanaticism with it. i got too lazy to do the 1xtra thing. i tried to revive the thread a bunch of times, but it never took off again. i kinda assumed (from the bits that i'd *had* heard this year) that there had been (at least a minor) quality dropoff, or either everyone was experiecing an equivalent fatigue.

― m. (mitchlnw), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I wz listening to the 1xtra dancehall show on monday -- quite like lenky's bubble up (I think that's what it is) riddim but that's a first impression.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 21:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I would like to hear this TOK rhythm/riddim, uh huh.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 21:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I can send you a WMA if you want.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 21:44 (twenty-one years ago)

That would be great.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Is is jordan1@gDONTEVENTRYTOEMAILWITHOUTREMOVINGTHISmail.com?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Yep.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

On its way.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Slammin'. At first I thought that the riddim really wasn't any different from the pop-dancehall I'd been hearing all year, but the snare accents really add a lot. Interestingly for me, it's the same rhythm as New Orleans bass drummers & snare drummers use, except the bass drum is straightened to quarter notes for the first half of the phrase.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:17 (twenty-one years ago)

It's the wide swath of gauzy echo across everything (the bass, the drums, the "mindmeltingly pants-creamingly amazing wordless timestretched vocoded hook") that makes it so beautiful for me. It's a really gorgeously arranged track.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah I agree, beat notwithstanding everything on top is really grea.t

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Tim, the elephant man and marvia providence tracks are up on bitchlaces - I believe it is the same riddim, it's just sometimes I've seen it credited as "armour of god" and sometimes something else. It's fast and soca-y...

The marvia providence track is utterly extraordinary - it's recorded live and has like inspirational gospel vocals over soca. Then elephant man takes the tune and makes it even more bizarre with his version...

― Jacob (Jacob), Thursday, 25 November 2004 01:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah they're the same riddim - i first heard both these tracks right at the end of my dancehall/soca obsession in June/July I think but couldn't find it on limewire at the time. They're great! The Marcia Providence track is brill isn't one, one of those songs which feels like you've known it forever, or its lodged in yer collective subconscious harking back to some primordial tribal celebration.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 25 November 2004 03:09 (twenty-one years ago)

the TOK song is also in remix form w/ Nina Sky and Beenie Man!

― djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 28 November 2004 16:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah absolutely destructive riddim - Phantom.

TOK - "Moneymaker" is redikulous.

― djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 28 November 2004 16:46 (twenty-one years ago)

someone recommeded a TOK track for me on slsk the other night.. and i can't remember what it was and the computer crashed. dunno if you're on this thread, but i'm still interested

― nick.K (nick.K), Sunday, 28 November 2004 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

i just picked up The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2004 last night and am a LOT more satisfied with it than i was with Ragga Ragga Ragga 2004 for some reason. maybe because it was 2cds for $11.99? the first song on the second cd is so great. Tony Matterhorn's "All About Dancing". what the hell is that 80s song he borrowed the melody from? it's on the tip of my tongue but won't come out.

― JaXoN (JasonD), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 23:52 (twenty-one years ago)

also, Alex, that old reggae guy at amoeba is so nice to me. i just don't get it. i know he can be a jerk, but maybe i preface my questions with, "I know you don't like new stuff, but do you know any thing that's come out lately?". he even walked me over to the Reggaeton & Soca Sections to show me what's new even though he hates those styles too

― JaXoN (JasonD), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 23:53 (twenty-one years ago)

The tracklisting for the Ragga Dancehall Anthems set looks awesome. I hope it appears over here soon.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 1 December 2004 00:29 (twenty-one years ago)

is there a reason to start a new reggaeton thread? there were tons of mix cds from this year. i totally don't know what to pick up because all of the covers are so janky

that shit is really blowing up. all over the radio and maybe because i work in a latin neighborhood?

― JaXoN (JasonD), Wednesday, 1 December 2004 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

This black attack riddim is fucking great.
gov't names has some shit up
http://governmentnames.blogspot.com/2004/12/black-attack-is-new-diwali-what.html

― djdee2005 (djdee2005), Friday, 3 December 2004 01:16 (twenty-one years ago)

"someone recommeded a TOK track for me on slsk the other night.. and i can't remember what it was and the computer crashed. dunno if you're on this thread, but i'm still interested"

It was me, Nick. It as "Gal Yuh A Lead".

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 3 December 2004 03:07 (twenty-one years ago)

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