Asaka The Renegade’s “Ya’ll Be Safe Tho” has the warmth of the Caribbean in its dancehall flavor.  Asaka’s overtures of love are delivered in the hybrid rhythm of a Jamaican toaster and an American rapper, almost teetering into an Afrobeats kind of vibe. The emerging Detroit artist is still feeling more than the usual encouragement after winning T-Pain’s March Music Madness earlier this year. “Ya’ll Be Safe Tho” is just one side of Asaka’s multi-genre sound. Fans are still locked into the R&B of “Think Of You” that T-Pain shared with followers. “Ya’ll Be Safe Tho” is the prelude to Asaka’s next mixtape coming out in the fall. Stay tuned for more from Asaka as he continues to churn out infectious tunes for the soul. 

Dancehall artist Sister Nancy is commemorating the 40th anniversary of her hit “Bam Bam” with a limited edition skateboard. The design is based on the cover art of her 1982 album, One Two, which was reissued in the ’90s. The board is part of Sister Nancy and Largeup’s capsule collection which also has a t-shirt, a baby onesie and a pin created with RockersNYC. The rest of the line was made by Mickal “Mr. Mikey” Stubblefield, the designer for Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club and ICECREAM brands.  

Sister Nancy’s often-sampled “Bam Bam” made her the first woman star of dancehall. The song’s ethereal majesty has created a mood for Hype Williams’ Belly, James Franco and Seth Rogen’s The Interview and most recently the final season of Netflix’s Ozark.  “Bam Bam” was used in EA’s 2007 video game Skate and the song became very well-known in the gamer and skating communities. She says, “Wherever I go around the world, skateboarders always hail me up and tell me ‘Nancy, we love your song.’” 

The skateboard is having a timely release because Jamaica’s first two skate parks and shop have all opened within the last three years. Sister Nancy and Largeup want to support skating in Jamaica and donate Bam Bam skateboards to Freedom Skate Park to give to skaters attending the brand-new Girls Sessions. The Jamaican native who now lives in New Jersey returned to music after working in banking for two decades. Next year she will perform at Cali Vibes Festival in Long Beach, CA Feb. 17th-19th and the South Facing Festival in London on August 6th. 

Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” was a funny and catchy take on cheaters that broke his reggae-based sound into the world of pop. Eddie Murphy’s Raw comedy special had a piece about boyfriends telling their girlfriends when asked about infidelity to simply reply, “It Wasn’t Me” and this bit inspired Shaggy’s song. Featured vocalist, RikRok asked Shaggy for advice when confronted by his girlfriend about cheating and that’s when Shaggy tells him to rely on Murphy’s phrase. The hilarious back-and-forth between RikRok and Shaggy made for an entertaining and unforgettable video. Shaggy had his first number-one hit with “It Wasn’t Me” in the United States, the UK and Australia. The subject matter and lighthearted intersection of reggae and pop were undeniable to the masses. The liftoff of “It Wasn’t Me” almost didn’t happen as MCA Records refused to promote and market any of the songs from the album. Hawaiian DJ Pablo Soto downloaded the song from a Napster-like service and started playing it on his radio show. Listeners responded by calling in and asking the name of the artist requesting to hear the song multiple times a day. The record company found out about the song’s popularity on the island and decided to take credit for its success. “It Wasn’t Me” kept growing organically and made the world recognize dancehall and opened doors for artists like Sean Paul. 

Shaggy’s Hot Shot album was a smash and became the best-selling full-length release of 2001 in Canada and went platinum six times in the United States. Since its debut in 2000, “It Wasn’t Me” developed its legend as the “Shaggy Defense” for anyone who denies a crime they obviously committed thanks to Slate writer Josh Levin who used it to describe R. Kelly’s 2008 child porn trial. In 2022, Shaggy competed on the seventh season of The Masked Singer, received an honorary doctorate from Brown University and released an album of Frank Sinatra covers called Come Fly With Me. 

Why wasn’t Nicki Minaj’s headlining show at the Essence Festival streamed on Hulu like the rest of the performers? 

Are Ray J, Sammie, Bobby Valentino and Pleasure P.  really forming an R&B group called R.S.V.P. ?

Why did CNN publish an article giving Jamaican dancehall credit for creating house, rap and hip-hop?