Search - Various Artists :: Essential Dancehall Reggae

Kingston, Jamaica, may be the hub of planet reggae, but this compilation proves that the U.K. reggae outpost is no mere satellite. Thanks to huge waves of Caribbean immigrants who came to live near the Queen in the '50s and '60s, Jamaican "blues dances" quickly became a Brit institution to rival afternoon tea. The U.K. reggae scene didn't come into its own, though, until the '80s, when dancehall reggae in general adopted a more hip-hop-compatible, quick-paced tempo that better suited the U.K. urban immigrant experience. Even Jamaican artists like Papa San, known for his lightning rap style; Frankie Paul, reggae's Stevie Wonder; and the hilarious Professor Nuts and Jamerican Daddy Freddy, who set a words-per-minute world record, crossed the Atlantic to voice tracks inna Englund, for the fabled Fashion label. Plenty of triple-tongued scatters show up in this superheated collection, but this race doesn't necessarily go to the swift. Smiley Culture, relatively laid-back, basso-voiced, and proudly lisping, leads off with a stand-out example of U.K. rockers, "Police Officer," and few can make moral rhetoric go down as easy as top-ranking roots-and-culture MC Macka B, spouting Old Testament fire here in "Bible Reader." --Elena Oumano