10. Dirtsman, “Hot This Year”
Dirtsman’s one-hit story is tragic rather than comical, but it must be told. Still young in the dancehall game, he met with considerable success after recording “Hot This Year” (it’s still an easy forward in nightclubs worldwide) with New York soundman Philip Smart, and was promptly signed to a major label deal on BMG. A 1993 shooting at his home in Jamaica put an untimely end to his career however—an all too common story in reggae. In that sense, he is a brother-in-arms to Pan Head, also lost to gun violence the very same year. His lasting hit “Punny Printer” is roughly equal to his other great dancehall legacy; inspiring his good friend Buju Banton—who eulogized him on the stand out 45 “Murderer”–to renounce slackness and gun lyrics and turn to Rastafari.