Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals.
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces, he had one of the earliest international reggae hits with "Israelites" (1968). Other hits include "007 " (1967), "It Mek" (1969) and "You Can Get It If You Really Want" (1970).
Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians. Shakespeare died in December 2021 following kidney surgery.
Derrick Morgan is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff in the rhythm and blues and ska genres, and he also performed rocksteady and skinhead reggae.
Rupert Lloyd "Rupie" Edwards is a Jamaican reggae singer and record producer.
Colin Patrick Harper, better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae artist best known for his single "Come Around".
Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin.
Alberto D'Ascola, better known by his stage name Alborosie, is an Italian reggae artist. He is sometimes called the "Italian Reggae Ambassador".
Damion Darrel Warren, best known as Teacha Dee, is a Jamaican reggae singer and former educator. He is best known for his hit singles "Smoke and Fly", "Reggae Souljahs" and "Smuggling Weed". He was a full-time employee for the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture in Jamaica when he recorded all three songs. His stage name was derived from the Jamaican creole for "teacher" and a shortening of his childhood nickname "Demus".
Henry Buckley Jr. aka Sadiki previously known as Pancho Kryztal, is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter and producer.
Josh Heinrichs is an American reggae singer/songwriter who was the former lead singer of internationally known indie reggae band, Jah Roots and current owner/operator of indie reggae record label, GanJah Records. Since leaving the band in 2008, Heinrichs has launched a successful solo career and has released several albums, including a #1 Billboard charting release with Good Vibes in 2016.
Tavis Scoot, better known as Smiley, is a reggae artist. He has been making music since he was seventeen years old. He moved to the Netherlands in 2000. For three years he toured with the popular Dutch reggae band, Out of Many.
Infallible is the 7th studio album released by Jamaican recording artist Tanya Stephens. This album was unique in the sense that it was a free download to all her fans. Tanya released the album for free stating "Infallible by Tanya Stephens! Feel free to forward the link to as many people as you wish. The album is completely free of cost. Enjoy!!" Andrew Henton, Tanya's life partner and co-founder of Tarantula Records stated the reason the album was a free download was because Tanya wanted to do something special for her fans, the major reason being that there's a recession going on, and things are already hard on everyone, he then stated that Tanya believes that when she gives an album to a major label, technically she's giving it away for free anyway, so she would much rather give it directly to the fans. The website that originally hosted the album was BYM Riddim, although the website has since shut down making the album unavailable to download, although the album has been uploaded to other websites such as Mediafire & Rapidshare by fans making it easy enough to download. Tanya approves of this, as it was a free album, she merely wanted the album to reach her fans. The album was also given away as a hard copy with Jamaican-based German magazine, 'Riddim' and can be backordered.
Gabriel Piotrowski, better known by his stage name Biga Ranx, is a French ragga hip hop musician from Tours, Centre Region, signed to X-Ray Production, an independent record label based in Paris. He released his debut LP On Time in October 2011, and his second album Good Morning Midnight in April 2013. He has collaborated with Maffi, Ondubground, Mungo's Hi Fi and Joseph Cotton.
Jesse David Royal is a Jamaican reggae musician.
Natty King,, is a Jamaican roots reggae artist. He is known for the singles "Mr.Greedy" and "No Guns To Town", both from the 2003 No Guns To Town album. After a short break in his career, King released the 2020 single "JOE". In early January 2022, the roots reggae musician released his second album Rebellution featuring new anthems like: "Trees", "Early Morning" and the title-song of the album "Rebellution".
Stann Champion is an American-born guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. He plays guitar and drums blending reggae, calypso, R&B, and rock music styles. Best known as the leader of the band "Roots, Rock Society" (RRS), Champion provides music therapy at hospitals and nursing homes. He has appeared with Blue Oyster Cult, Quiet Riot, Gil Scott-Heron, Steel Pulse, Third World, Culture, and Burning Spear. He has received 12 Chicago Music Awards (CMA), for "Best Calypso," "Best Soul Calypso," and "Best Gospel/Spiritual Band," as well as CMA's "Lifetime Achievement Award," for his contributions to the Chicago music industry and community involvement.
Easy Star Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996. Based in New York City, the label primarily produces and releases albums in the genres of reggae and dub.
The Expanders are an American roots reggae band from Los Angeles, California.
Through The Roots is an American reggae rock and pop band based out of San Diego, California. They are described as "easy-listening music with positive Cali-vibes and inspiring messages".
