Within a few years, dancehall music has undergone major renovations. The popular genre originating in Jamaica has adopted many different sounds and forming several different sub-genres such as the highly controversial genre, trap-dancehall. Artists taking advantage of this have gained recognition in the space for their fresh take on dancehall. The dancehall space has also seen artists going back to the roots of the genre with successful results. With this, many of these artists’ careers show promise going into the new decade. In no particular order, the artists showing the most promise for 2020 are as follows:
Quada
Since his debut single ‘Reflex’, Shacquelle Clarke otherwise known as Quada, has been enjoying the notoriety of a dancehall up-coming superstar in Jamaica. Quada got his start at the 2016 staging of Popcaan’s Unruly Clash and his performance served as his initiation into the Unruly Camp and the skyrocketing of his career. His breakout hits of 2019: ‘Hail’ and ‘New Gyal Alert’ has only helped in that regard and we are extremely excited to see what this year holds for this unruly protégée.
Maestro Don
Hailing from Waterford in Portmore and hoping to become the city’s next legendary artist is Maestro Don. He may just be on the perfect path to becoming just that as he is co-signed by reggae giant Gyptian. The year 2019 saw him dropping tracks such as ‘Leggo Di G’ at the beginning of the year, ‘Killaz Dem Out’ and his debut EP ‘Sad World’ produced by Daniel Gordon ‘Deli’ and Rayon Martin ‘b3agl3’ of Mortigor Sounds. These projects have set a precedent for the quality of music we now expect from the Yung Don himself.
I Waata
A part of Jettlife Movement is Jason Bailey performing under the name IWaata. Despite making music from as early as 2008 his big break didn’t come until six years later when he was awarded the opportunity to perform in 2014’s Sting in St. Catherine Jamaica. In the recognition following his performance, he has since released a wide variety of tracks steadily adding to his discography. 2019 saw him releasing many mainstream tracks including favourites ‘Lava’ and ‘Cut Off Jeans’
Intence
I Waata can hardly be spoken about without mention of his Jettlife Movement counterpart and Tavern native Tashawn Gabbidon who goes by Intence. With hits such as ‘Go hard’ and ‘Be Careful’ quickly becoming mainstream dancehall hits and his regular releasing of new music for the public, it can safely be said that Intence had a great year in 2019 and will see another great year in 2020.
Alicia Harley
Versatile would be the perfect word to describe British-Jamaican singer and rapper Alicai Harley. With her ability to smoothly transition from a deeper rootsier deejay voice into beautiful vocals, her music adequately marries the Jamaican dancehall and British grime genres she says are her biggest influences. With her international sound and local vibe she definitely shows promise going into 2020 and we can’t wait to see what that looks like.
Daddy 1
As the youngest member of the newest crew to hit dancehall, the 6ixx, Adrian Bailey known to his fans as Daddy 1 has a lot to live up to following in the footsteps of his teammates. With his hit singles of the year ‘Custom’, ‘Anthem’ and ‘Out Here’ he has managed to keep himself relevant in the dancehall party scene, his songs receiving wild reactions from patrons at their playing. We can’t wait to hear the tunes he has coming in the new year.
Likkle Vybz and Likkle Addi
Sons of the new king of the dancehall Vybz Kartel, Akheel and Jaheim Palmer, Likkle Vybz and Likkle Addi respectively came on the scene 2019. Long-time fans of the duo’s legendary father were in no way prepared for the masterful lyrics and sounds coming from the young artists. With hits such as ‘Dollar Signs’ a sampling of Kartel’s 2009 hit ‘Dallaz’, ‘Paid in Full’ and ‘Skinny Jeans’ between them and Likkle Vybz even collaborating with his father in the tune ‘Fully Gaza’, the young duo has long since proved to naysayers that their relevance has little to do with their legendary parentage and are working hard for their place in the Jamaican music industry. They have a promising career ahead of them for 2020 if they continue in the vein of what we saw in 2019.
Moyann
Montego Bay native Moyann, made her debut in the summer of 2018 with her now infamous ‘Netflixxx N Chill’. She spins old school dancehall diva raunchy lyrics with a new school modern sound in what she calls “sassy dancehall”. She has since released anthems in ‘A Nuh My Style’ and ‘ABC 123’ the singer says she draws from her own experience and surroundings in the lyrics that she writes. Moyann shows plenty of promise as a female dancehall artist and we’re excited to see where her budding career will take her.
Kash
Kasheme Ingram began his dancehall career at the age of thirteen under the moniker ‘Kash’. Steadily working on his craft and image since then, has earned him the interest of popular label Romeich Entertainment. His strong vocal skills as well as his traditional dancehall sound make for the unique combination his fans love. Some of his stand out songs are ‘Powerful’ and ‘Oh Lord’. The new year certainly looks promising for this youngstar.
Kemar Highcon
Singer Kemar Highcon has definitely been riding the wave of the commercial success of his breakthrough single ‘So Saucy’ this year. The already popular tune’s catchy lyrics and sound had already been snatched up by many widely recognized companies for use in advertisements and campaigns throughout the summer when he released an equally as successful counterpart track to ‘So Saucy’ in ‘Talk ‘Bout’. It isn’t hard to foresee the success of Kemar and we anxiously await it.
