| Reggae fusion | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Dancehall - Reggae - Lovers Rock - Ska - Rhythm & blues - Rock - Hip hop - Ragga - Euro House |
| Cultural origins | Late 1980s Jamaica, North America and Europe |
| Typical instruments | Bass - Drums - Guitar - Organ - Brass instrument - Melodica - Sampler - Bass - Synthesizer - Drum machine |
| Mainstream popularity | Since early 2000s in Jamaica, worldwide beginning in early 1990s onward, varied. |
| Subgenres | |
| Ska punk, J-reggae | |
| Other topics | |
| Music of Jamaica - List of reggae fusion artists | |
Reggae fusion is a fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, eurohouse, jazz & drum and bass.[1][2]
In addition to characterizing fusions of reggae music with other genres, the term is used to describe artists who frequently switch between reggae and other genres, mainly hip hop, such as Kardinal Offishall, Sean Kingston, Chux Starr and Heavy D. The term is also used to describe artists who are known to deejay over instrumentals which are neither reggae nor dancehall, such as Elephant Man, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Natasja Saad, Diana King, Delly Ranx and Dionne Bromfield.
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Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as early as the early 1970s, no official term had been used to describe this practice. Artists such as UB40 were described using terms that joined the various genres they performed (e.g. reggae funk, reggae pop). It was not until the late 1990s when the term was coined.
The sub genre predominantly evolved from late 1980s and early 1990s dancehall music which instrumentals or riddims contained elements from the R&B and hip hop genres. Due to this, some consider dancehall artists such as Mad Cobra, Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Buju Banton and Tony Rebel as pioneers of reggae fusion.[3] For some of these artists, such as Buju Banton, reggae fusion became a staple throughout their careers.
Although there were a few recognized reggae fusion artists in the late 80s to mid 1990s, such as Sublime, Maxi Priest, Shinehead, UB40, 311, First Light and Inner Circle, their style of fusing genres was subtly done.[4][5] Other acts, such as Third World, not only commercially blended reggae with other genres but performed a wide variety of genres outside of reggae.[6] It was not until the mid to late 1990s, when artists started to mix genres that were not similar (e.g. reggae with techno) that the sub genre gained a more distinctive sound and really began to grow.[3] A major reason it gained international prominence was due to the lack of marketability of dancehall, in its rawest form, in the United States. By the late 1990s, dancehall had lost its footing in the American market as it had gotten more hardcore lyrically and started using a heavier Jamaican dialect and less standard English. This led dancehall artists who were trying to break into the U.S. market to fuse the dancehall style over softer and predominantly pop and hip hop instrumentals. Traditional dancehall acts, such as Shaggy and Beenie Man experienced commercial success in the American markets with the release of their albums in 2000.[2][7] Shaggy's album, Hot Shot, especially helped further propel the sub genre internationally, as his album spawned two #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel".[2] No Doubt's 2002 massive hit album Rock Steady, with worldwide reggae fusion hits such as "Underneath it All" featuring Lady Saw and "Hey Baby" featuring Bounty Killer, further propelled the sub-genres popularity to new heights. This was especially because it marked one of the first times a pop/ska punk act had made a complete reggae fusion album, since the mid-90s and opened up the genre to a new fan base as reggae fusion was, at that point, mainly utilized by reggae artists trying to break into the mainstream market and not by already established acts, such as No Doubt.[8]
In late 90s, the evolution of reggae fusion reached another musical style in Europe by the worldwide hit of "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base. The sound was often called Euro Reggae and became a trend of Eurodance music, such as Mr. President's "Coco Jamboo", "Sweet Sweet Smile" by Tatjana, E-Rotic's "Help Me Dr. Dick", "Ole Ole Singin' Ole Ola" by Rollergirl, "Bamboleo" by Garcia, to name a few.
Reggae fusion has gained a strong following due to its worldwide appeal and more artists performing the sub genre.[9] Initially not being as popular in Jamaica as it was internationally, the sub genre started to gain popularity by the mid-2000s due to its promotion by musical pundits[2][10] and the fact that many artists had started remixing popular hip-hop tracks by deejaying verses on the same instrumental. Its popularity became blatantly apparent with the first reggae fusion-influenced riddim in 2005 called the "Inevitable" riddim, which featured deejays on a techno-based instrumental. Reggae fusion is now a regular staple on Jamaican radio stations, especially Zip 103 FM, in the form of singles, mixes and remixes. This has led to more reggae fusion hits being produced as well as making strong waves on the Dancehall charts in Jamaica. One such single, "Ramping Shop" (using the same instrumental of Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent") by Vybz Kartel and Spice, was one of the biggest reggae fusion hits in 2008, not to mention one of the top singles in Jamaica of that year, peaking at #1.
Recent international reggae fusion hits, such as "Calabria" by Enur and Natasja, "Letting Go (Dutty Love)" by Sean Kingston featuring Nicki Minaj, "Need U Bad" by Jazmine Sullivan, "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson and "Billionaire" by Travis McCoy, shows that the sub genre has matured and is as popular as it has ever been, with more artists experimenting with it.[2] Also some producers have gained recognition for consistently incorporating reggae fusion into songs they produce, such as J. R. Rotem, who has produced reggae fusion hits such as Beautiful Girls, Me Love, Take You There, Replay, Love Like Woe and Solo. Its continued exposure to Jamaicans became very evident in 2009, as the summer saw an explosion of Jamaican-produced reggae fusion riddims such as "Mood Swing" (which yielded the massive breakout #1 hit "Life" by G-Whizz)[11] and hit tracks such as "Holiday" by Ding Dong and "(From Mawning) Never Change" by Chino. Both of these songs reached the top five on the Jamaican charts, with the former track peaking at number one in December 2009[12] and both (along with "Life") being nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 2010 EME Music Awards (Jamaican equivalent to the Grammy Awards), which was won by "Holiday".[13] This marked the first time a reggae fusion song had won the prestigious award since the award show's conception in 2008 as well as the first time three reggae fusion songs were nominated for the award. "Holiday" was also nominated and won for the "Best Collaboration".[14] Since 2010, reggae fusion has become a regular component of dancehall music and is as popular as it has ever been, being incorporated in many riddims such as the popular "One Day" riddim produced by Seanizzle.
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