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Dancehall Explorer for artist interviews, party reports and learning more about dancehall music.

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22/10/2025

18/10/2025

The roots of rap trace back to the sound system culture of 1950s and 60s Jamaica, where deejays transformed simple record playing into a live art form called toasting. Rhythmically talking, rhyming, and hyping crowds over instrumental versions of popular songs. Legends like Count Matchuki, King Stitt, U-Roy, and Big Youth turned these performances into storytelling sessions filled with humor, social commentary, and sharp lyrical flow.

When Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell, a Jamaican immigrant from Kingston, moved to the Bronx in the late 1960s, he carried this same tradition into his neighbourhood parties. Herc began looping instrumental “breaks” from funk and soul records, while MCs echoed the toasting style, chanting, boasting, and engaging the crowd in rhythm. These Bronx block parties became the cradle of hip-hop.

Music historians widely agree that Jamaican toasting laid the creative blueprint for rap, shaping its energy, delivery, and performance style. From Kingston’s dancehalls to the Bronx’s streets, Jamaica’s sound system culture didn’t just influence hip-hop — it helped invent it.

16/10/2025

Kill dem 👏👏

11/10/2025

✅✅✅

05/10/2025

👏👏

01/10/2025

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