On my iPod: Wayne Barrett’s Top 5 Dancehall Tracks

Reggae is Jamaica’s most famous export. Everybody knows who Bob Marley is and the genre as a whole is one of the world’s best-known and most popular forms of music.

The slow tempo of reggae, which often incorporates traditional instruments such as acoustic guitars and hand-drums, means it is regarded as a ‘chilled’ form of music, even though the lyrics often deal with social issues such as poverty and rebellion against authority.

What a lot of people don’t know is that reggae has an offshoot: Dancehall, also known as ragga. If reggae is the parent, Dancehall is the rebellious youngster. If reggae is Motown, Dancehall is hip-hop: harder-edged, more street-oriented. As reggae became worldwide music in the 1980s, Dancehall was becoming the sound of Jamaica’s youth in their homeland.

These days both reggae and Dancehall are worldwide phenomenons, with sales in both genres numbering in the millions, though the latter - with lyrics every bit as graphic as those from 50 Cent or Tupac Shakur -  remains much more underground and youth-oriented, sung in the Jamaican patois dialect and with heavy use of local slang.

GLORY middleweight Wayne Barrett was born in Jamaica to American citizens. His childhood there saw him absorb the martial arts movies which would shape his future direction, and also instilled a love of the island’s music.

Dancehall provides a perfect soundtrack for a Jamaican fighter and it is never far from Barrett’s stereo. Here’s the Top 5 tracks currently enjoying heavy rotation on his MP3.

Barrett faces Jason Wilnis in the co-headline fight of GLORY 18: RETURN TO GLORY, which takes place Friday, November 7 in Oklahoma, USA and airs live in the US on Spike TV from 9pm ET.

Vybz Kartel - Touch A Button Nuh

In Jamaican slang, “touch a button” is a dare or warning, letting the person it is addressed to know that they only have to do some small thing more to trigger a physical confrontation. “Touch a button, nuh” (“Don’t touch a button”) is the equivalent of “Say that again, I dare you”.

“This is such a motivating track. It gets me in that mindset of like, somebody better think twice before they try me,” says Barrett.

Popcaan- Party Non-Stop

Dancehall lyrics generally take one of three directions: street, social or party. The artist known as Popcaan - aka Andre Sutherland - is firmly in the latter category, focusing on feel-good party tunes to get people (ladies) onto the dance floor.

“This is just one of his many party tunes and it’s pretty self-explanatory,” says Barrett. “It just gets me in the party mood.”

Bounty Killer - Run Inna War

Bounty Killer (Rodney Price) and Beenie Man (Anthony Davis) are two of the most decorated veterans on the Dancehall circuit, having been at the top of the game since the 1990s. Bounty Killer in particular is considered a pioneer of the genre.

He got into a feud with Beenie Man after accusing him of stealing lyrics and vocal delivery styles from him. Beenie Man made the exact same allegations at Bounty Killer and a war was started.

The traditional method of warfare is to record ‘diss tracks’ aimed at the opposing party. The lyrics pick holes in everything from the opponent’s artistic merit to appearance, personal life, finances and popularity. Sometimes there is a clear winner, other times neither side will admit defeat.

“The war with Beenie Man produced some of his best efforts. Bounty Killer is the man and the war-tracks are just straight fire,” says Barrett.

Vybz Kartel - Last Man Standing

Feuds are a huge part of Dancehall culture, just as rap battles are in hip-hop. The long-running battle between Vybz Kartel and Movado was enormous - and deadly.

Inner-city youth claimed allegiance to one side or the other and engaged in fights and gun battles when they ran into each other. Think of the East Coast/West Coast rap rivalry but imagine the two sides were in close proximity, ready to rumble and able to engage with other freely.

In 2007 the Jamaican police force actually brought the two artists together for a televised press conference to appeal for calm and to publicly end the feud. But it sprang up again in 2008, peaking with an on-stage vocal clash at the Sting festival during which Movado disappeared from the stage, allegedly because he was losing.

Vybz Kartel subsequently released ‘Don’t Run’. The lyrics mock Movado’s past occupation as a barber and compare him to the record-setting Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt for the speed in which he left the stage. Kartel then celebrates his triumph by declaring the feud to be over because he was “the last man standing”.

Barrett says, “This is definitely a war song. It’s about how when the dust settles I'm going to be the last one standing. They can fire 1,000 shots at me - I only need one.”

Buju Banton & Fat Joe/Terror Squad - Rudeboy Salute

The influential artist Buju Banton was born in Kingston, Jamaica in a poor neighborhood called Salt Lane. ‘Buju’ is a nickname given to chubby children in the Jamaican-Maroon dialect and was given to him by his mother as a child. ‘Banton’ is a Jamaican word that refers to someone who is a respected storyteller.

‘Fat Joe’ (Joseph Cartagena) is a Hispanic rapper from The Bronx, New York. Raised by parents of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent he lived in public housing, began stealing at a young age to support his family and was introduced to rap music before his teens. He went on to become one of the rap world’s most successful artists, domestically and internationally. ‘Lean Back’ was a worldwide smash in 2004.

Back in 1999 though he and his group Terror Squad were still cutting their teeth and had a harder sound. One track on their eponymous debut album was a collaboration with Banton, since relocated to the USA. Despite never being released as a single it became a cult sleeper hit and is regularly dropped by DJ’s to this day.

Barrett’s family returned to New York from Jamaica when he was young, so he spent his teenage years in the Big Apple and so it is appropriate that this track features a mixture of Jamaican Dancehall and New York Hip Hop influences.