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Toasting (rap in other parts of the Anglo Caribbean) or deejaying is the act of talking, usually in a monotone melody, over a rhythm or beat by a deejay. It can either be improvised or pre-written. Toasting developed in Jamaica, before it took up that name and being part of the sound system era, a similar sound of it is found in mento and now can be heard over musical styles including ska, reggae, dancehall, dub, grime, hip hop, soca and bouyon music. The combination of singing and toasting is known as singjaying.
In the late 1950s in Jamaica, one of the first Selector, [1] also being a promoter optimized of using a mic and to entertain an audience while playing records was Count Matchuki. [2] He conceived the idea for being comically entertaining from listening to commercial ads and disc jockeys on American radio stations etc. [3] He would create and come up with comical phrases also doing African American jive over the music while selecting and playing R&B music. Deejays like Count Machuki working for producers would play the latest hits on traveling sound systems at parties and add his vocals to the music. These talks consisted of comedy, boastful commentaries, half-sung rhymes, rhythmic chants, squeals, screams and rhymed storytelling.
Osbourne Ruddock (a.k.a. King Tubby) was a Jamaican sound recording engineer who created vocal-less rhythm backing tracks that were used by DJs doing toasting by creating one-off vinyl discs (also known as dub plates) of songs without the vocals and adding echo and sound effects. [4]
Late 1960s toasting deejays included U-Roy [5] and Dennis Alcapone, the latter known for mixing gangster talk with humor in his toasting. In the early 1970s, toasting deejays included I-Roy (his nickname is in homage to U-Roy) and Dillinger, the latter known for his humorous toasting style. In the early 1970s with the rise of Dub Big Youth became popular,also Prince Jazzbo in his early appearance toasting with more cadence on Dubs. In the late 1970s, Trinity followed.
The 1980s saw the first deejay toasting duo, Michigan & Smiley, and the development of toasting outside of Jamaica. In England, Pato Banton explored his Caribbean roots, humorous and political toasting [6] while Ranking Roger of the Second Wave or Two-Tone ska revival band The Beat from the 1980s did Jamaican toasting over music that blended ska, pop, and some punk influences.
Jamaican deejay toasting also influenced various types of dance music, such as jungle music and UK garage. Dancehall artists that have achieved pop hits with toasting-influenced vocals include Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, Lady Saw, Sean Paul, Terror Fabulous and Damian Marley.
Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. Reggae is rooted out from traditional Jamaican Kumina, Pukkumina, Revival Zion, Nyabinghi, and burru drumming. Jamaican reggae music evolved out of the earlier genres mento, ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.
In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the riddim plus the voicing sung by the deejay. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.
The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles.
Dub is a musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section, the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.
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. It wasn't until the 1980s when the style was officially named when the two words Dance and Hall the common venue was joined to make one word DanceHall; for the first time staged and promoted on an international scale. In this time 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.
Ewart Beckford OD, known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting. U-Roy was known for a melodic style of toasting applied with a highly developed sense of timing.
There are several subgenres of reggae music including various predecessors to the form.
Dr Alimantado, also known as The Ital Surgeon, is a Jamaican reggae singer, deejay, and producer.
In Jamaican popular culture, a sound system is a group of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing ska, rocksteady or reggae music. The sound system is an important part of Jamaican culture and history.
People from the Caribbean have made significant contributions to British Black music for many generations.
Singjaying is a Jamaican style of reggae vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singer and deejay.
Winston Sparkes, better known as King Stitt, was a Jamaican pioneer DJ.
Keith Hudson, was a Jamaican reggae artist and record producer. He is known for his influence on the dub movement.
Sir Lord Comic is one of the original Jamaican deejays.
Amos Edwards better known by his stage name General Trees, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay who was considered one of the most popular deejays of the 1980s, best known for his hits in the latter half of the decade.
Winston Cooper, better known as Count Matchuki or Count Machuki, was a Jamaican deejay.
Maxwell Grant, better known as Ranking Trevor and sometimes as Ranking Superstar, was a Jamaican reggae deejay.
Dancehall pop is a sub-genre of the Jamaican genre dancehall that originated in the early 2000s. Developing from the sounds of reggae, dancehall pop is characteristically different in its fusion with western pop music and digital music production. Dancehall pop is also different from dancehall in that most songs use lesser Jamaican Patois in lyrics––allowing it to be globally understood and consumed. It also incorporates the key pop music elements of having melodies, hooks, and the verse-chorus format. Additionally, the genre moves away from the reggae and roots reggae music origins in social and political protest, now lyrically centering on partying, dancing, and sexuality.
Don Dada is an album by the Jamaican musician Super Cat, released in 1992. It was his first album for a major label, and also one of the first dancehall albums for a major label. The album title refers to Super Cat's nickname.