Toppa Top 10: Kanye West’s Most Jamaican Moments

Words by Richard “Treats” Dryden and Jesse Serwer—

Discussing the musical tone of his new album Yeezus in a rare interview with The New York Times, Kanye West spoke of “trap and drill” and “old Chicago house.” But there’s another key influence at play on the rapper/producer’s avant-garde sixth studio album that went unmentioned: Dancehall. No less than four tracks on Yeezus feature vocals by notable Jamaican vocalists, specifically Capleton, Agent Sasco (a/k/a Assassin), Popcaan and Beenie Man. Still, there is a giant question mark looming around the integration of reggae and dancehall on the polarizing album: namely, where does the influence come from?

Kanye has no Caribbean roots that we know of, nor has he expressed an interest or fondness for reggae in any interview that we’ve read. Is Yeezus West’s way of subtly telling us he’s a closet dancehall fanatic (while shouting out other, trendier genres), or is he just rolling with influences brought to the table by Jamaica-favoring collaborators like Pusha T and the Heatmakerz?

Looking back over his career, we see that Yeezus is hardly the first time ‘Ye has dabbled in Jamaican sounds. From his early work behind the boards for Jay-Z to last year’s soundbwoy-dusting GOOD Music posse cut “Mercy,” he’s been behind some of the most memorable reggae samples in hip-hop. In this special-edition Toppa Top 10 list, LargeUp takes you through Kanye West’s “most Jamaican moments”—from off-hand mentions of jerk chicken to homages to Yellowman and Super Cat.

10. GOOD Music, “The Morning” feat. D’Banj, Raekwon, Common, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Cyhi The Prynce and Kid Cudi (2012)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: GOOD Music’s “The Morning” interpolates Yellowman’s “I’m Getting Married”

Kanye has quietly pulled from Jamaican music periodically throughout his career, but last year’s GOOD Music compilation album Cruel Summer was where the producer (or at least his collaborators and co-producers) really made it a consistent presence, with inclusions both explicit (“Mercy”) and subtle (“I Don’t Like (Remix”). “The Morning” is so toploaded with big names (Common, Raekwon, 2 Chainz) that people sometimes forget to mention D’Banj, but the Nigerian vocalist gave the tune a memorable and unusual twist with his interpolation of the melody from Yellowman’s early ’80s dancehall classic “I’m Getting Married.”

9. “I Don’t Like Remix” feat. Pusha T, Chief Keef, Jadakiss and Big Sean (2012)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: GOOD Music’s “Don’t Like.1” samples Barrington Levy‘s “Under Mi Sensi”

Another track from Cruel Summer, Kanye’s GOOD Music-certified remix of Chief Keef’s breakthrough hit “I Don’t Like” (identified as “Don’t Like.1” on the LP) punctuates the rapper’s lines with signature snippets (“Whoa-oh-oh,” “Ay!”) from Barrington Levy’s all-time classic “Under Mi Sensi,” spicing up a beat originally produced by Chicago upstart Young Chop.

8. “Looking For Trouble” feat. Pusha T, Cyhi The Prynce, J.Cole and Big Sean (2010)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “Looking For Trouble” samples Steel Pulse‘s “Blues Dance Raid”

Leading up to the release of his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album, Kanye released a new track every week as part of his GOOD Friday campaign, celebrating the camaraderie he was enjoying creating with everyone from his GOOD. Music team to Ryan Leslie to Lloyd Banks. He found the perfect lineup for this posse cut, leading with noted dancehall and Jamaican culture enthusiast Pusha T. “Looking For Trouble” turned out to be perfect marriage of the beat and Pusha’s style. While the beat samples Steel Pulse’s “Blues Dance Raid,” (an OG reggae track previously used by the Heatmakerz on Cam’Ron’s “Bubble Music”), hustling historian Pusha shouts out the Shower Posse, namedropping the Jamaican crew’s then newly deceased leader, Vivian Blake.

7. “Good Night” feat. Mos Def (2007)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “Good Night” samples and interpolates Super Cat’s “Nuff Man a Dead” and samples U-Roy’s “Wake the Town”

Among the collaborators who has to be credited with steering Kanye towards Jamaican music would have to be one Yasiin Bey. Back when we knew him as good old Mos Def, the rapper was paying homage to the likes of Beenie Man and KRS-One (channeling Yellowman), singing dancehall melodies in a West Indian twang, on “Travellin’ Man” and “Definition,” respectively. His assist on the chorus for “Good Night” nods to “Nuff Man A Dead,” another big tune from the Original Don Dada, Super Cat.

Included as a bonus cut on Kanye’s pivotal third studio album Graduation—a release that saw the reformed backpacker showcase his growth by pulling influences from Daft Punk and Steely Dan—”Good Night” was yet another showcase of the producer’s musical depth, pulling Super Cat’s aforementioned classic and U-Roy’s “Wake the Town” into an evocative hip-hop beat, with a subtle influence from ’80s dancehall.

6. “Devil In A New Dress” feat. Rick Ross (2010)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “I hit the Jamaican spot, at the bar, take a seat. I ordered the jerk, she said you are what you eat.”

Naturally we’d like to think that the Jamaican spot Kanye is referring to is our second home, Miss Lily’s in New York City. Kanye did recently celebrate his 36th birthday at downtown Manhattan’s central place for authentic Jamaican cuisine and good music. In fact, he goes back to the early days when Miss Lily’s first opened in 2011, and has been spotted there frequently ever since. But given that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was released in 2010, chances are he’s probably referring to another Jamaican spot. Whether it’s somewhere on Church Ave. in Brooklyn, or down in MIA, we’re glad to hear that he’s a fan of jerk seasoning.

5. “Through The Wire” (2004)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “The doctor said I had bloodclots, but I ain’t Jamaican, man.”

In the half century since Jamaica’s independence, much of its culture—food, music, language—has been exported into the mainstream of the United States. When it happens, to this day, we still celebrate it because of how far it travels. Hearing Kanye deliver a punchline on “Through The Wire,” (his debut solo single, which he rapped with a broken jaw and his teeth wired together) with a pun incorporating “bloodclot”—one of the most emphatic Jamaican terms—your natural response is, well, “What the bloodclot did he just say?”And it wouldn’t be Kanye, if he didn’t preface the line right by saying he was laid up “in the same hospital Biggie Smalls died,” who we recently had to large up as the greatest rapper from Brooklyn with Jamaican roots.

4/3. Jay-Z’s “Lucifer” and “Encore” (2003)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “Lucifer” samples Max Romeo’s “Chase the Devil” and “Encore” samples John Holt’s “I Will.”

Describing “Lucifer” on camera for the concert movie, Fade to Black, Kanye West told Jay-Z this record wasn’t a record, it’s like a scene from a movie. Sounds like a page out of Inception, right? Then we were able to catch a glimpse of the process of “Lucifer” being made. It was almost as if it happened by accident: Young Guru cycles through Kanye’s beats only to cue a version of “Lucifer” that has Kanye rapping over his flipped sample of Max Romeo’s “Chase the Devil.” The rest is history with Kanye giving Jay-Z the chorus and bridge to one of the best tracks from The Black Album.

Meanwhile, the horns from John Holt’s reggae cover of The Beatles’ “I Will” blare across “Encore,” signaling what was intended to be Jay-Z’s grand send off on his retirement album. At this time—three months before the release of College Dropout—Kanye’s production was still heralded as his bread and butter. While Danger Mouse’s mash-up masterpiece The Grey Album was heralded as a visionary project for its pairing of Jay’s Black Album a capellas with the sounds of the Beatles, it’s important to note that Kanye also went leftfield by weaving in Holt’s Beatles cover to create “Encore.” Mash it up Yeezy.

2. “Mercy” feat. Pusha T, 2 Chainz and Big Sean (2012)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “Mercy” samples Super Beagle’s “Dust a Sound Boy” and Reggie Stepper’s “Cuh Oonu”

Sadly, dancehall hasn’t been well represented on radio and TV in North America. and other key markets in recent years. Making up for this fact, in a sense, has been the preponderance of big-name hip-hop tracks featuring classic dancehall samples and phrases.

While less of an explicit tribute than, say, French Montana and Nicki Minaj’s “Freaks,” Kanye and the GOOD Music crew’s 2012 mega-hit “Mercy” grabs your attention from the start with its cryptic sample of soundclash hype man Fuzzy Jones’ monologue from Super Beagle’s 1990 sound killer “Dust A Sound Boy.” If you know that tune, the first time you heard “Mercy,” you were likely stopped in your tracks by this unlikely turn; if you don’t know it, you were just as likely to stop and wonder what the hell you were hearing.

Thankfully, there’s our June 2012 feature on Super Beagle, which sheds light on the origination of “Dust A Sound Bwoy” and Kanye’s use of it.

1. Yeezus (2013)

Kanye’s Jamaican Moment: “I Am A God” samples Capleton’s “Forward Inna Dem Clothes”; “I’m In It” features Agent Sasco (uncredited); “Guilt Trip” samples Popcaan from Pusha T’s “Blocka”; “Send It Up” samples Beenie Man’s “Memories.”

For all we know, Mr. West has no direct lineage to Jamaica or the West Indies. To see him approach reggae and dancehall from an authentic standpoint is what we would hope he would do. No fake Jamaican accent. Nothing predictable. It’s just such a major surprise how he and his team of producers for Yeezus chose the right figures. Almost all of the Jamaican production references are vocally sampled from previous recordings. You’ll recognize Beenie Man’s hook from “Memories” on “Send It Up” and Popcaan’s voice from Pusha T’s “Blocka” chopped up for “Guilt Trip.” Capleton’s warrior chant from the lesser known “Forward Inna Dem Clothes” matches perfectly the ominous, dark feel of “I Am A God.”

The “X” factor is Agent Sasco who contributed vocals on “I’m In It.” Our worthy source tells us that Sasco sent Kanye’s production team vocals and they did what they did with them. Sasco’s appearance is a major highlight not only because he is the only original dancehall feature, but because he has been one of the most consistently lyrical deejays in recent years; now his placement on Yeezus propels his profile to another plateau.

As for Kanye West feeling the Jamaican vibes, it’s almost like his lyrics are drunk off of rum punch. Here’s a couple choice lines:

‘I hit her with Jamaican dick, I’m the new Shabba.’ – “Guilt Trip”

‘How you gon’ be mad on vacation? Dutty wining around all these Jamaicans!’- “Bound 2”