Reggae or Dancehall?

[suga n spice]

Do you prefer listenin to classic reggae songs or dancehall tracks? Or are you into both?
I personally love classics like children of israel by Horace Andy, But I also love tracks like sean Paul Temperature!

[leggo rocker]

Depends what you call Dancehall (topic discussed here many times)

I listen mainly to early reggae (1970-80), I enjoy dub and vocals (and instrumental!). Some Ska and Rocksteady also.

But also enjoy some Dancehall (early 80s mainly) but also have some late 80s early 90s digital stuff, that I guess is Ragga, that I love spin up. Like Flourgone, Chaka Demus and some of the later works of Sugar Minott.

[mr raggae]

classic reggae is my choice. Dancehall not for me I love reggae music so some times I hear a dancehall beat and match it with an old reggae classic but when the voice start to toast or DJ what ever they call it then I just switch of and say to my self one more reggae classic rythm get spoil again.

[mick d]

It's all about the classic roots of the 70s and the early dancehall of the early 80s. I really dislike the cheesy synthesizer crap from the late 80s. I like some dancehall, but only when it has a roots background, such as Sizzla's Black Woman & Child. Some modern dancehall is so far from the reggae sound that evolved from rocksteady to roots to rockers to early dancehall. I don't even consider a lot of modern dancehall to be reggae. It sounds more like hip hop. The classic roots of the 70s is truly the golden age of Jamaican music.

[Alhazred]

Early dancehall by the likes of Lone Ranger, Yellowman, Brigadier Jerry or Nicodemus is absolutely killer, check some stuff like LOne Ranger's M16, Yellowman's Mr Yellowman, Brigadier's track on Stalag or any sound-system recording of the above, for particularly good examples.

[leggo rocker]

Talking of Lone Ranger, don't forget the LP 'Hi Ho Silver, Away!'

And for Toasting DJ stylee, for me the crowned King of the Stylee is the man called Ranking Trevor.

I haven't heard anything with him on that I didn't like and his LP 'In Fine Style' is for me perhaps the best ever example of this genre. It is an LP that follows unbeatable track with another track that is so fine. 'In Fine Style' by title and in fine style indeed. Listen!

But with great works by the likes of I Roy, U Roy and Big Youth around, 'In Fine Style' is only just ahead of the pack. All three have produced many tunes that just MUST be heard.

And that's without a mention for the giants of late 70s toasting like Dillinger and Tappa Zukie.

And what about Prince Fari? Do we call him a singer or a toasting DJ? Or both? Listen to Pslams Far I, he isn't really singing, but then this isn't really toasting. So what shall we call that style? I call it excellent. That is the LP that people forget when talking about Far I's greats. For me it is an unbeatable work. It is sounds that go right where reggae should, to the conscious heart.