2019 saw what I would call an unexpected turn of the type and quality of Dancehall songs. No shade intended, but we heard a lot less from the man himself, Alkaline, and were only entertained by Popcaan’s playful persona on Instagram. Instead of hardcore lyrics, the Dancehall industry was an echoey of sixes, wileside, polos and any dance moves the Ravers deemed fit for the crowd. Regardless of the new turn of events, and Romeich seemingly becoming the powerhouse of entertainment, there is just one voice that will never get old – that of Vybz Kartel.

Here are our picks for the top 10 Dancehall songs for 2019:

10. POLO by Hot Frass & Takeova

Released in May, this song was just in time to stir up the fashion trend for the summer for males. The catchy line ‘polo shirt and mi damn shorts’ became an anthem for every male. While the song created a stir, the reality is it never had much substance and the video displayed such. Kudos to Hot Frass & Takeova but they just didn’t takeover Dancehall for 2019.

9. Clarks Pon Foot by Jahvillani

Wileside Gad copped a huge co-sign by international retail company, Clarks, endorsing the single as the summer anthem. This was great publicity for the St. Ann born artiste who was already receiving much attention from his previous single, Nuh Reason. Clarks Pon Foot revamped the sensation that was previously created by Vybz Kartel, with the punch ‘Bad man a rock brand new Clarks pon foot’

8. Blessed by Shenseea & Tyga

Sad to say the Dancehall princess did not have much to offer this year, but with a questionable ‘publicity stunt’ and the captivating ra-ta-ta-ta, sooner or later Blessed was buzzing on everyone’s tongues. Though a good song, if played on repeat, one will quickly begin to question if the chorus was empowering or Shenseea ran out of lyrics.

7. Good ting dem by Ding Dong Ravers

One pillar of Dancehall songs is not only the rhythmic movement of ladies’ hips but the choreographed movements of basically (at this point) anything Ding Dong and the Ravers crew put together. Its safe to say they control the dance moves of this industry. This was another song that focused on fashion, but at least it gave us something to do in the meantime.

6. One Way by Vybz Kartel

One Way quickly became the hustlers’ anthem. A rather smooth Kartel, with his lyrics flowing effortlessly, still managed to affirm his dominance on the Dancehall market. He declares in the chorus that he is living life only one way (currently we know which way the courts have determined but hey #FreeWorldBoss). My favorite line, ‘Violate di Teacha, him will shot yuh’, I guess somethings never change.

5. Gyalis Story by Ding Dong

With the official video releasing October, it has already caught the eyes of 1.4 million YouTubers. Gyalis story highlights a different side of Ding Dong, this time it is no vibrant dance, no Ravers, just Ding Dong using his gyalis style. A well directed video, we see Ding Dong boasting to his friend recalling how smoothly he got a girl who claimed she never gives it up inna the first night to eventually give in. My take away line ‘She say play wid the pet before the kitty run away, She ago gi me but nuh look pon har no way.’

4. Anthem by Daddy1

‘And if yuh nah seh 6ix no gyal don’t want yuh’… Well it’s the end of 2019 and I am still not sure if there is any truth to that statement but what I know to be true is, as the name suggests, it became the anthem for almost every young male in Jamaica. Anthem, its safe to say, was the breakthrough song for Daddy1, though I believe the chorus has the perfect punch, the rest of the song was basic. Daddy1 still sounds pretty aggressive in his style of sing-jay.

3. Dumpling by Stylo G

Note! I am not referring to the remix, where Spice added her genuine flavour but Sean Paul spoiled the entire mix. Nevertheless, the original song caught its own fair share of attention, independent of the remix. The rhythm alone had a uniqueness to it and then the lyrics were not what anyone could have possibly preempted. This song had everyone believing their bank accounts were thick like dumpling, but we all know that is as far away from the truth, just as the possibility of a Jamaican girl saying you’re sweet like pumpkin. Well who knows, after the traction this song has received, it will perhaps become a new slang.

2. Beat dem Bad by Vybz Kartel & Squash

Released in June, Beat dem Bad has received 12 million views on YouTube and is now a staple in every taxi man’s car (except those who listen to Barry G, of course). The punch line, ‘Couple million inna di Louis bag, we still a beat dem bad’ had everyone hyped up, mostly as this song signaled a relationship between the 6ix fans and Gaza nation, thus an even larger fan base. This gave Squash an even brighter spotlight in the industry (though we haven’t heard from him since) and more so it affirmed that even from behind bars Vybz Kartel still a beat dem bad.

1. Toast by Koffee

Although it was released late 2018, toast took 2019 by storm. The 19-year-old prodigy reminded the world that despite the challenges, we ‘can’t bawl inna life man’ and its safe to say that this song cannot be forgotten. The song paved the way for the success of Koffee’s Rapture EP, which was nominated for a Best Reggae Album Grammy. Even now at the end of the year, our very own Miss World is still jamming to the hit, which shows that the song will not be out of our ears anytime soon.

Honorable mentions 

Custom by Daddy1, No underwear by Dexta Daps, Snappin by Ding Dong, Come home by Vybz Kartel and Leader by Dexta Daps and Masicka.

–Akeelia Richards