Dancehall-trap artiste Blacksan is pushing his latest single, Slide , featuring 3T Krush, released on December 1 alongside high-energy visuals.

“This single Slide is my most successful single so far, everybody loves the energy, the vibe, the different flows, and energy. I did a freestyle with the video and it got over 150,000 views on TikTok in only a few days, the song is fire,” said Blacksan, whose real name is Dane Dawson.

Blacksan is at the forefront of a new vanguard of artistes who are bringing authentic lyricism, artistry and emotions back into mainstream dancehall.

Blacksan grew up in Spanish Town, St Catherine, where he was homeschooled until his teens. He attended Greater Portmore High where he discovered his love for dancehall music. He recorded his first single in 2015, San is the Man, which became a fixture at stage shows in Spanish Town, and adjoining communities.

He quickly built up a decent underground following and landed performances at popular events such as Up To The Line After Champs, and high school fetes such as Wolmer’s, Jose Marti Technical, and Eltham High.

“The song San is the Man was a big hit with the young audiences, my squad and I performed it every year at Up To The Line between 2016 to 2019,” he said.

Years later, he discovered a new sound and began to experiment with the subgenre trap dancehall.

“I am a big supporter of ‘traphall’ because I am traphall the creator,” he said.

“I created traphall, not the man weh say him a ‘Trap King’, I’m the one that first mixed hardcore dancehall with trap melody, flows and sound with a splash of CPR magic dust and we created traphall music,” he said.

His other singles include Trap Cheese featuring 3T Krush and Roshawny, Fresh and Bro Bro.