As we are compiling a TOP
50 for the entire year 2002, it is time to take a look back at the
enormous output of music out of Jamaica. Dancehall Bashment ruled much
of 2002 on our New Mexico Reggae Dancehall Chart. As opposed to 2001,
which saw a strong resurgence of rootical reggae (remember VC, George
Nooks'"God Is Standing By" and all the BOOM tunes on the ZION
GATES riddim ?), the past year was almost completely dominated by
hardcore beats such as DIWALI, NINE NIGHTS, PARTYTIME and FLIP. Don't
get me wrong: there were a large number of HOT roots riddims released,
yet many tunes failed to chart, or have much of an impact.
New Mexico is neither JA
nor is it NY; we tend to do things our own way out here, which is
clearly reflected in 2002's top tune out this way: Elephant Man's
"Wining Queen". While it was fairly successful in the
dancehalls world-wide, it never reached anywhere near #1 in Jamaica and
I dare to say that there was no other place on the planet where it was
as popular as in New Mexico. Between BROTHERHOOD and REGGAE RUNNINS
RADIO we heard the tune 43 times over the course of the year, which is a
new record. TOK's "Chi Chi Man", which led in 2001, held the
mark so far with 40 points.
Steelie & Cleevie's
NINE NIGHTS gave the DIWALI riddim quite a run for its money. The former
placed 4 tunes in this Top 10 of this TOP 50, in the form of Ele,
Wickerman, Red Rat and Lexus, making it HUGE in New Mexico, with a total
of over 150 points. It was only outdone by Steven "Lenky"
Marsden's DIWALI, which featured Jamaica's top tune of the year (plus
the #1 selling reggae single in the US) and our runner-up: Bounty
Killer's "Sufferer". The Poor Peoples Governor is simply at
his strongest when he tackles cultural lyrics. Remember "Look"
, "Anytime" or "Can't Believe My Eyes" ? The wicked,
eastern sounding DIWALI is featured more than any other beat on this
chart, making it RIDDIM OF THE YEAR. A whopping 11 entries are included
in this TOP 50, combining for over 250 points.
Lenky is also our
DANCEHALL PRODUCER OF THE YEAR. Unlike Steelie & Cleevie, who
followed their crucial NINE NIGHTS with the mediocre ONE POP, Lenky also
had his hands in the PARTYTIME, another fast, crazed, eastern riddim.
PARTYTIME was hot in NM, as demonstrated by the likes of Elephant Man
(again), Mr.Vegas, Desperado, Anthony B, and Sizzla. The official
successor to the DIWALI, the MASTERPIECE (also created by Lenky) hit the
streets at the end of the year. It sounds VERY promising and is already
causing quite a stir in 2003.
Although there were many,
many excellent re-creations of classic roots riddims, including REAL
ROCK, STORM, NONE A JAH JAH CHILDREN, FULL UP, ITS RAINING, HEATHEN, and
DUB ORGANIZER, none of the tunes had as much of am impact, as the roots
classics of 2001. Nelly Furtado's and Yogie's entries on the TURN OFF
THE LIGHT reggae remix beat were the exceptions rather than the norm;
the only two numbers on a traditional reggae riddim to chart in 2002's
Top 10. At # 18 we have an artist who has been around for a while but
who is news to most people; Shocking Murray, a yardie based out of
Germany.
The Morgan family's name
has always stood for top-quality, rootical productions and 2002 was no
different, as they unleashed two BIG riddims: NO TIME and NEVER GO UNDER
on their very own 71 Records and HMG labels. Lion Paw released its
follow-up to last year's huge ZION GATES, the TRIBAL WAR. While it was
another superb production with solid tunes from the likes of Warrior
King, Luciano, LUST, and Capleton, the beat coulkd not match the hype of
the more upbeat and danceable ZION GATES.
Ed Robinson did a new
take of the Bob Dylan classic "Knocking On Heaven's Door" on
Rashanco/DIA , which was quite popular this way, as was King Kong's
"Jah Is My Best Friend" on Massive B. Brian & Tony Gold
hit the come-back trail hard. They are featured on a smooth lovers
number entitled "Irresistable" as well as on a hardcore
dancehall track called "My Life" and a hip-hoppin combo
alongside Shaggy & Rik Rok : "2 Way".
Sean Paul's "Give Me The Light" was MASSIVE in NM in 2002, as
was Tanto Metro & Devonte's "Give It To Her". Both got on
heavy rotation on a number of commercial radio-stations here, clearly
indicating that dancehall is ready to be taken to another level in the
land of enchantment. As both tunes were released in the earlier part of
2001 though, they only find consideration in the form of the Busta
Rhymes/Sean Paul remix.
Producer Richard
"Call Me Shams" Browne had another good year: his latin-flavored
GLUE riddim was hot and made our TOP 50 in the form of TOK, Desperado
and General Degree. His TAI CHI riddim is also wicked but it came out
too late in the year to have a significant impact. Look out for it in
the beginning of 2003.
Dave Kelly released the smokin RETURN beat early in 2002, and the solid
WICKED a little later. His brandnew MI NUH KNOW was just released and it
is guaranteed to cause a storm on the NM dancefloors soon come. Check
the next CLUB DREAD event at Paramount on 1-30 and you are bound to hear
it.
Older labels such as Tan-Yah and Supa-Doo (spearheaded by the legendary
dancehall producer Mr.Doo) made comebacks with the GOVERNMENT and
HI-FEVER riddims. Just seeing those names back in the biz put a big
smile on my face. Please: keep on keeping on.
King Of Kings' MARTIAL
ARTS riddim did very well across the globe but it had a hard time in NM
and only Elephant Man's gigantic "The Bombing" managed to
chart. Its successor the FAMINE fared a little better here; many tunes
are bubbling just under this TOP 50, while Cecile charted.
Mo Music released one of the best riddims of the year, the FLIP, which
always got our crowds moving. All tunes on this beat are red-hot: good
riddims make for good tunes, que no !!!
The dub-poet DYCR hit a huge come-back with "Sucker", a tune
in which he rants and raves so hardcore that it caused nuff nuff
hysteria inna di dance and subsequently led DYCR to be voiced on just
about every other rootical riddim for 2002.
UPCOMING ARTIST OF THE
YEAR would have gone to my bredrin Shocking Murray (who finally let
loose on a number of releases), had it not been for Desperado. Desperado
( a cousin of TOK, I heard) has 3 entries on our Top 50, so him mek it.
DJ/ARTIST OF THE YEAR for
the second time in a row is the energy god Elephant Man. He is the only
artist to have had 2 DIFFERENT #1 songs on our charts in 2002, holding
the pole-position for no less than 4 months out of the twelve. Big up
Ele !!!
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
is Nelly Furtado, who was our leader back in April. She barely edged out
Crissy D whose creation on the DIWALI was HUGE out here, and Cecile, who
had another great year and is represented by two tracks on this chart.
ROOTS RIDDIM OF THE YEAR
is a surprise, as none of the tunes individually managed to make this
chart. But combined, there was no other beat that got as many rotations
and forwards as the remake of the classic ITS RAINING. The rasta-crowd
really loved it, requesting it over and over again. So congratulations
to Bobby "Digital" Dixon.
Few live shows this year,
but BEST LIVE VOCALIST IN NEW MEXICO OF THE YEAR goes out to Luciano for
the second year in a row. He barely topped Prezident Brown and Jr.Gong.
I believe that pretty
much covers the entire year 2002. The 9-11 terrorist attacks were
heavily reflected in many of the beats that were released, as lots of
them had a funky "eastern vibes" to them (RETURN, DIWALI,
PARTYTIME). NM saw few Jamaican artists in the area, as many promoters
lost money on their shows. On the other hand, no one dared to bring in a
fresh artist who had not been here before. Almost all gigs featured
roots bands, Beenie Man being the sole exception. Still we believe that
NM is ready for dancehall reggae to reach higher heights. A professional
reggae-radio program on commercial radio would help to spread the music
to the youths and widen the foundation of reggae-lovers, so we are
working on that. Dancehall has a universal appeal. Many hip-hop sessions
are featuring dancehall tracks on a regular basis. Can you imagine what
would happen if Sean Paul or Elephant Man were to take the stage out
here? Lets make it happen.
Blessings for a
MASSIVE 2003 to you,
