Toppa Top 10: The Best Dancehall Singles of 2012

Words by LargeUp Crew—

For our Top 10 dancehall singles of 2012, we’ve put together a cross-section of the biggest, most undeniable and ubiquitous tunes of the year, along with some gems we just genuinely loved, regardless of their commercial status. The goal, overall, was to compile a list of tracks that we expect to keep hearing for years to come.

As is often the case in dancehall, some of the biggest hits this year were actually released in the year prior. Songs released in 2011 were eligible to be included in our 2012 Top 10, but only if they weren’t already in last year’s Top 10. Hence the absence of Vegas’ “Bruk it Down”—arguably the year’s biggest dancehall tune, but also No. 10 on last year’s chart. That said, read on for our picks for the best dancehall singles of 2012.

Bounty Killer quietly had a strong year, musically speaking at least. While most of the attention generated by the Warlord in 2012 derived, somewhat unfortunately, from his feud with dancehall’s man-of-the-hour, Tommy Lee Sparta, Bounty cranked out lots of quality tunes—“No Long Talking,” on Jah Snowcone’s Antibiotic riddim was a favorite—with minimal hype. The one new Bounty that caught on was “Ride,” his collaboration with a now-pregnant Cecile. (That last detail may explain why “Ride” never got a video).

There’s little middle ground when it comes to Tommy Lee Sparta, and his big breakout single, “Psycho.” You’re either fully on board with the gothic dancehall program, or loathe to even speak its name. But what can’t be argued is that Lee and “Psycho” were game-changers. Other dancehall acts have employed dark imagery before but none have made it such a focal point as Lee did on “Psycho” and follow-up efforts like “Uncle Demon.” Throw in one of 2012’s most memorable—and explicit—videos, and you had the unlikeliest of soundtracks for what was otherwise Jamaica’s sunniest, most positive summer in years.

In a year where some might say soca surpassed dancehall as the Caribbean’s most vital music genre, RDX’s “Jump” was perfectly positioned. Veteran dancehall duo Renegade and Delomar’s hit straddled the edge of both, making it a perfect tool for DJs moving between the styles. At any proper bashment this year, you were sure to hear “Jump” played during peak hour.

Potential Kidd came from out of nowhere with “Yah Suh Nice,” a tune so ubiquitous for a brief moment in Jamaica that there were two completely different versions of it running… then he basically disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. “A Yah Suh Nice” was great fun while it lasted, though, giving us one of the year’s most memorable metaphors: “She just a bubble bubble bubble like a chicken gravy.”

Most of the talk surrounding Mavado this year related to his signing with DJ Khaled’s YMCMB-affiliated We the Best label. While that was a big move, in our eyes the biggest thing the Gully Gad did this year was release the most positive, simple, life-affirming dancehall tune of the year in “Cyaa Hold Me Again,” on Stephen McGregor’s Tenement Yard riddim. We haven’t always been there with ‘Vado as he’s moved away from the hardcore badman tunes that established him a half-decade ago, but this is the place we want to see him going.