Words by Jesse Serwer and Martei Korley
Now that Christmas is over and 2012 is nearly upon us, we’ve finally gotten around to taking stock of all that’s happened this year. For the rest of this week and into the next one, we’ll be bringing you Toppa Top 10 best-of lists covering a variety of categories, starting with a pan-Caribbean countdown of our favorite albums from 2011. It was certainly an interesting year for music in the Caribbean and the diaspora, with all sorts of new directions and unusual pathways taking shape, from new-wave inspired mento and Guadeloupian soul to pop bachata and Panamanian hyphy. There were some good reggae LPs, too, and even a uniquely brilliant dancehall album from the genre’s biggest and most divisive star. Read on—and don’t hesitate to tell us what we missed.