3. Bobby Shmurda (Jamaica/Trinidad)
Iggy Azalea might have dominated the charts this summer but, in the streets, 2014 was the summer of Shmurda. Ever since an enterprising Vine user looped his now infamous Shmoney dance, 20-year-old rapper Bobby Shmurda has owned block parties, clubs and car stereo speakers with his Jahlil Beats-produced single “Hot N***a.” Presently, it’s just about impossible to walk through Brooklyn (home to Shmurda and his GS9 crew) without hearing the sounds of the Shmoney Shmurda Shmixtape. Everyone from Beyonce to Drake to Elephant Man is co-signing the track (and the dance), and an Epic Records contract is now his. Though his own musical style isn’t particularly redolent of reggae or dancehall, Shmurda is of mixed Jamaican and Trinidadian parentage and has been quick to rep the West Indies. “We Caribbean—you know we dance,” he told Billboard, explaining his dance’s popularity. And just in time for the Labor Day weekend festivities in NYC, Shmurda got Mavado, Junior Reid, Popcaan and Jah X on an official reggae remix to his big hit. We’re curious to see the impact of this version and whether the young artists continues down the island route; in the meantime, make sure you know how to Shmoney dance.