THERE are hit songs, and then there are songs that become part of a culture’s memory. For veteran dancehall entertainer Harry Toddler, the distinction becomes clearer every time he steps onto a stage.

More than two decades after helping to soundtrack a defining period in dancehall, Toddler is still watching audiences respond to his catalogue with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for music of the moment. From his performance at A Taste of Reggae Sumfest in July to a special appearance at The Return of The Building at the National Arena last Saturday, the veteran has found himself revisiting songs from yesteryear before crowds that span generations.

For Toddler, their staying power is no accident.

“This music is timeless. Dem can soothe the soul anytime and the more mi sing dem a di more mi love dem and the more the crowd react to them,” he said. “It’s a pleasure performing dem and mi honestly believe say each year dem get nicer and nicer.”

That longevity was particularly evident at The Return of The Building, where Toddler’s appearance came with an endorsement from one of dancehall’s biggest stars. Before handing him the microphone, Vybz Kartel paused to pay homage to the veteran, referring to Toddler as a big brother in music and recalling growing up listening to his songs. Kartel then stepped aside and allowed the entertainer to command the massive crowd.

Toddler needed little time to remind patrons why his catalogue has endured.

As Dance The Angel rang through the National Arena, the crowd readily followed his instructions, while Kartel himself rocked from side to side to the familiar dancehall favourite. It was a brief but energetic set, and another reminder that Toddler’s music has managed to retain its potency long after the era that first produced it.

For the veteran entertainer, perhaps the greatest evidence of that endurance comes when he doesn’t have to sing the songs himself.

“When me touch the stage at any show at any point in time and sing a line like this, ‘Baay gyal, baay gyal wah me. When me touch the road, di mount a gyal weh swarm me,’ when me push the mic inna di crowd, dem know dem part and sing, ‘Mi nuh know, mi nuh know,’ loud and without hesitation,” Toddler shared.

The same happens with other staples from his catalogue.

“Even if me go and sing, ‘Badman nuh dress like…’ the audience knows their part. And that’s the thing I love about these songs,” he said. “It’s just a beautiful thing as an artiste to have songs that grow with people so generation and generation after that know dem.”

Those call-and-response moments are more than an indication that the songs remain popular. They speak to the place Toddler’s music occupies in dancehall’s collective memory.

Emerging during an era that produced some of the genre’s most recognisable personalities and records, Toddler developed a catalogue steeped in the energy, humour and dance-driven culture of the period. Years later, those songs continue to surface wherever dancehall’s history is being celebrated, often requiring little introduction before audiences instinctively take over.

His recent run of performances has allowed him to witness that legacy from a particularly rewarding vantage point.

At Reggae Sumfest in July, Toddler again found himself before a sizeable audience, performing music that has travelled considerably further than its original moment. The reception, he said, reinforces his gratitude for having remained active long enough to see another generation embrace the work.

“Mi love the fact say me get fi do performances same way too. Because when I look at the reaction of some young people in the crowd when I’m on stage, dem grow hearing these songs and now dem seeing who sing dem and can put a face to it,” he said. “It’s a really nice feeling.”

It is a privilege not afforded to every entertainer. Dancehall, perhaps more than most genres, is constantly propelled by what is new — new artistes, new riddims, new dances and new slangs arrive at a relentless pace. Songs can dominate for a season before being displaced by the next wave.

Against that backdrop, maintaining a catalogue capable of commanding a crowd decades later carries its own significance. Toddler’s music has managed to do precisely that. And for him, standing on stage and watching thousands of people finish lyrics he recorded years ago remains one of the clearest measures of what he has accomplished.