13. Spice – Needle Eye
Spice enhanced her status as dancehall’s reigning queen this year, with two big singles. “Back Bend” kept Grace Hamilton in dancer’s good graces for most of the year, but our favorite tune from her in 2015 would have to be her latest. On “Needle Eye,” she samples from vintage classics “Position” by Terror Fabulous (1993) and Shabba Ranks’ original “Needle Eye” (1988), while bringing her own unique flavour to the mix as always, creating an explosive ode to the golden days of dancehall. The accompanying music video, featuring an array of colorful costumes, whinery and sound systems to boot, has already racked up over a million hits on YouTube. It’s really taken off on social media too, with “Needle Eye” dance competitions taking place all over. —Nadine White