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Reggae fusion (sometimes spelled as reggaefusion), is music that mixes reggae or dancehall with other genres, such as hip hop, r&b, pop, techno or house, rock, jazz and drum and bass.^[1]

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 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. One of the more popular forms of reggae fusion is mixing drum and bass instrumentals with dancehall or reggae lyrics. This is sometimes referred to as ragga jungle.

[edit] Origin

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 (eg. reggae funk, reggae pop). It was not until the late 1990s when the term was coined.

The subgenre 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 and Buju Banton as pioneers of reggae fusion. Some of these artists, such as Buju Banton, eventually ventured into reggae fusion later on in their careers.

Alhough there were a few recognized reggae fusion artists in the early to mid 1990s, such as Sublime, Maxi Priest and UB40, their style of fusing genres was subtly done. It was not until the mid to late 1990s, when artists started to mix genres that were not similar (eg. reggae with techno) that the subgenre gained a more distinctive sound and really began to grow. A major reason it gained international prominence was due to the lack of marketability of dancehall, in its rawest form, in the United Statess. 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. Shaggy's album, Hot Shot, especially helped further propel the subgenre internationally, as his album spawned two #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel".

[edit] Growth

Reggae fusion has gained a strong following due to its worldwide appeal and more artists performing the subgenre.^[2] Initially not being as popular in Jamaica as it was internationally, the subgenre started to gain popularity by the mid-2000s due to its promotion by musical pundits^[3] 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.

Three of the most recent international reggae fusion hits are "Calabria" by Enur and Natasja, "Dangerous" by Kardinal Offishall and Akon and "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti & Spearhead featuring Cherine Anderson. A Jamaican #1 single, "Ramping Shop" (using the same instrumental of Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent") by Vybz Kartel and Spice, was also one of the biggest reggae fusion hits in 2008. The summer of 2009 saw an explosion of Jamaican-produced reggae fusion riddims such as "Mood Swing" and hit tracks such as "Holiday" by Ding Dong and "From Mawning" by Chino, both reaching the top five on the Jamaican charts, with the former track peaking at number one in December 2009.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of reggae fusion artists
• Ragga
• Ragga jungle
• Fusion

[edit] External links

• ReggaeFusion: The Online Encyclopedia of Jamaica's Music Industry
• Reggae Reviews: Reggae Fusion
• Cleveland - Stories tagged with "frat=reggae fusion"
• International reggae fusion single "Calabria 2008"
• Reggae fusion mix "Girlz"
• Jamaican reggae fusion single "Hideaway"

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