Where I’m Coming From: 60 Years of Jamaican Music in 60 Songs
In the 60 years since Jamaica achieved its independence from England, on Aug. 6, 1962, the tiny Caribbean nation has created some of the world’s most influential musical styles, including ska, rock steady, reggae, dub, and dancehall. Likewise, over the past 60 years, Jamaican artists have distilled inspirations from various parts of the world into distinctive sounds that, when coupled with the island’s astonishingly prolific recorded output, has made “the land of wood and water,” as its first inhabitants, the Arawak Indians called it, one of the most significant musical destinations in the world.
To celebrate Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee, we’ve compiled a list of 60 songs, one song per year, to tell the story of the island’s musical evolution. Some tracks were chosen because they heralded a new direction in sound, others sparked a movement, some engendered controversy, marked a turning point in an artist’s career, or had a significant impact at the time of their release.
Because Jamaica has been blessed with an abundance of extraordinary musical talent, the list features just one entry per artist. However, those who are recognized for a solo effort may also be listed for recordings they made as part of a group or in collaboration with another performer. Because there were just too many records to choose from for any given year, some important releases may not appear on the list. But that’s just a reminder of how amazingly rich this history is.
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Busy Signel, ‘Reggae Music Again’ (2012)
Known primarily for his swaggering dancehall hits, Busy Signal showed his diversity and effortlessly moved into the contemporary reggae realm with “Reggae Music Again.” The single pays homage to a previous era in Jamaican music, as well as a time when “positivity was the message we sent, it used to be Jamaica no problem.” Departing from the synthesized beats heard on his previous releases, Busy worked with some of Jamaica’s top musicians who created the richly textured one drop beat.
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Jesse Royal, ‘Modern Day Judas’ (2013)
Producer Winta James’ Rootsman riddim spawned many hits by reggae-revival artists including Chronixx’s “Here Comes Trouble,” and Tarrus Riley’s “Cold Girl,” and Jesse Royal’s extraordinary breakout single “Modern Day Judas.” Royal juxtaposes biblical metaphors as he calls out backbiters, betrayers, and hypocrites, acknowledging that “some a say mi paro, some a say a narrow views/But I can’t forget what Adolf did the Jews/And what his friends did to the Tuff Gong too.” Royal’s nuanced, confident delivery on this classic tune ranks alongside the very best from the 1970s roots-reggae golden age.
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Protoje feat. Chronixx, ‘Who Knows’ (2014)
The most celebrated artists of the reggae-revival era collaborated on the movement’s biggest hit, which received Silver certification in the U.K. earlier this year. Chronixx’s alluring sun-kissed “chilling in the West Indies” refrain contrasts the depth of Protoje’s verses, which address hypocrisy, poverty, nation building, and thinking for oneself. Both artists are fond of sonic experimentation, but this roots-reggae juggernaut merges tradition with a shimmering contemporary edge.
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Chronixx, ‘Capture Land’ (2015)
The throbbing bassline that runs through “Capture Land” underscores Chronixx’s uncompromising condemnation of the impact colonialism has had on the African diaspora. Referring to regions throughout North and South America as well as the Caribbean as captured lands, he calls out Spanish conquerors, the massacre of Amerindians, and the emergence of the slave trade, connecting historical atrocities to present-day poverty and other maladies. Chronixx’s powerful lyrics flow easily over a rhythm that is as absorbing as the song’s essential subject matter.
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Nesbeth, ‘My Dream’ (2016)
Despite differences in their governing approaches, in 2016 the leaders of Jamaica’s two major political parties, Portia Simpson Miller of the People’s National Party and the now-incumbent Jamaica Labor Party led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, reached a rare compromise during the early stages of the election: Both chose Sing-jay Nesbeth’s inspirational hit “My Dream” for their respective campaigns. One of the year’s biggest hits, Holness invited Nesbeth to perform at his inauguration and even joined the Trench Town-born singer on a few lines of the song.
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Dre Island feat. Popcaan, ‘We Pray’ (2017)
Classically trained pianist Dre Island worked as an engineer-producer for several years before stepping in front of the mic. His raspy, genuinely affecting vocal tone delivers motivational lessons his mother taught him — “Life is journey, it’s a long race, mama say son be wise and don’t bring disgrace”— and advises spiritual strength during challenging times. “We Pray,” Dre’s biggest hit to date, also features a stirring verse by his close friend, dancehall superstar Popcaan.
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Koffee, ‘Toast’ (2018)
Jamaican sensation Koffee was just 18 when she recorded “Toast,” a joyous expression of gratitude that resonated with audiences of various ages and backgrounds, even if they couldn’t decipher the lyrics within her remarkable patois lyrical flow. More closely aligned to dance music than dancehall, “Toast,” Koffee’s international breakthrough featured on her Grammy Award winning EP Rapture, has earned more than 132 million streams on Spotify.
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Lila Iké, ‘Where I’m Coming From’ (2019)
Reggae, country & western, R&B, gospel, and jazz were all significant elements in shaping the vocal versatility that characterizes Lila Ike’s music. Her trap-influenced single “Where I’m Coming From,” produced by Kasadie “Caspa” Jones, is a moving autobiographical sketch depicting the tribulations she has faced on her journey to becoming one of Jamaica’s most buzzed-about young artists. Lila is currently signed to RCA Records through a partnership between the label and her mentor Protoje’s In.Digg.Nation Collective.
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Popcaan feat. Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR, ‘Twist and Turn’ (2020)
Popcaan signed to Drake’s OVO Sound in 2018, and they’ve collaborated several times since, including two songs, “All I Need” and “Twist and Turn,” on Popcaan’s 2020 mixtape, Fixtape. Drizzy and dancehall’s unruly boss are joined by PARTYNEXTDOOR on “Twist and Turn,” a sleek and sexy pop-trap-dancehall mashup. The sparse riddim allows each artist to shine: Drake dominates, Party accentuates his Jamaican roots and blends well with Popcaan, who gives the song its strongest vocal flavor. President Obama included “Twist and Turn” on his Summer 2020 playlist.
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Yaksta, ‘Ambition’ (2021)
“Why own a Ferrari with nowhere to park it? Why shop at Louis V when there is a Target?” asks Yaksta (a.k.a. Bush Lawd) in his trap-accented hit, the antithesis of dancehall’s typical brand-conscious braggadocio. “Ambition” significantly placed Yaksta, 28, on the musical map, and he is establishing himself as a powerful performer with a command beyond his years, delivering uplifting messages for the youth, a refreshing addition to the dancehall terrain.
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Ishawna feat. Ed Sheeran, ‘Brace It’ (2022)
Ed Sheeran’s 2017 dancehall-infused pop behemoth “Shape of You” spawned many cover versions and remixes, but Sheeran was partial to a raunchy interpretation by Jamaican dancehall sing-jay Ishawna. Recorded over the music from Sheeran’s original, Ishawna’s “Equal Rights” explicitly advocates for females receiving a specific, reciprocal sex act, a taboo pronouncement within dancehall’s otherwise bawdy but male dominated terrain. Sheeran heard “Equal Rights” while vacationing in the Caribbean and reached out to Ishawna via Instagram. The unlikely duo then co-wrote the playfully suggestive “Brace It,” with Sheeran spitting Jamaican patois lyrics. Their voices blend beautifully over an appealing riddim, produced by Jamaica’s Skatta Burrell (also a co-writer on the song), veteran reggae hit maker Don Corleon and Ishawna, that fuses Ed’s gentle guitar strums and Don’s subtle keyboard phrases with classic dancehall samples.