What Is Dancehall?

Dancehall music emerged in the 1970’s in Kingston, Jamaica. This style of music originated from reggae and was named after the dance halls that emerged in the 1940’s as a place for people to gather and dance. Dancehall eventually spread worldwide and many artists worldwide became prominent within the genre such as Rihanna and Sean Paul.

The genre originates from deejays rapping or “toasts” over a prerecorded reggae beat. Some common themes among the dancehall genre are sex positivity, homophobia, violence, love, social issues and Rastafari themes. These raps are often delivered in Jamaican Patois.The dancing style consists of a mixture between African dance and contemporary Jamaican dance styles.