KONSHENS
I wouldn’t necessarily say Konshens is the most important artist in dancehall, but he’s probably the best placed to re-establish dancehall in the mainstream crossover market. Like Sean Paul in the early 2000s, he is making hardcore dancehall with a pop sensibility and has a bag of tunes that would be perfectly at home on Hot 97 or BBC Radio 1. Konshens may not have the lyrical ability of Kartel but he’s got an ear for melodic hooks like Sean Paul or Mr. Vegas and the same versatility that was key to Beenie Man’s success, with wining anthems (“Gal A Bubble,”), badman tunes (“Do Sum’n”), X-rated lyrics (“Big People Ting”), throwback jams (“We Nuh Worry Bout Them”), R&B remixes (“Take You Ova”) and soca (“Re Up All My Drinkers”). Plus he’s got a Sean Paul collab on the radio (“Want Dem All”) and he’s featured on the latest chart hit from U.K. Afrobeats star Fuse ODG (“Million Pound Girl”). Perhaps most importantly, female fans LOVE Konshens. And we all know that women call the shots. —Gabriel Heatwave, DJ/founder, The Heatwave