It's no secret that dancehall has become en vogue outside of the Caribbean. The current #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 is Drake's "One Dance." Not long ago, it was Justin Bieber's "Sorry." As dancehall riddims creep further into the core of the global pop zeitgeist, one cannot help but recall the previous wave of crossover dancehall hits that took the world by storm in the early to mid '00s.
In this spirit, HNHH has compiled a list of the five biggest dancehall crossover hits of the '00s. This list will surely anger a few dancehall purists who insist that these songs are not truly dancehall, but rather some combination of soca, reggae, and R&B. Remember that fusion is the essence of pop.
Rihanna - "Pon de Replay" (2005)
To some extent, Rihanna’s debut single “Pon de Replay” is the Caribbean's answer to the “Cha Cha Slide.” It’s legible dance blueprint -- “Let’s go dip it low, then you bring it up slow/ Wind it up one time, wind it back once more” -- meshes well with the song’s torrid riddim, which heats up every time Rihanna exhorts the DJ to run it back until it has the club rocking at a fever pitch.
“Pon de Replay” peaked at #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Kevin Lyttle - "Turn Me On" (2003)
One of the truly great one-hit wonders of the 21st century, Kevin Lyttle became an international sensation when he transformed his 2001 soca ballad “Turn Me On” into an upbeat dance track. The best part of the song, which is virtually flawless, is probably when DJ Spragga Benz yells "Me done feed she with popcorn and Sprite/ whar come fly way like kite!”
“Turn Me On” peaked at #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Baha Men - "Who Let The Dogs Out?" (2000)
You couldn’t go to a sporting event in the early ‘00s without hearing the stadium DJ enthusiastically bumping “Who Let The Dogs Out?” It helped athletes tap into their inner junkyard dog, and the kids loved it. Although the Baha Men’s incessant barks now pale in comparison to those of A$AP Ferg, the song is a classic, and also one of the most irritating songs of all-time.
“Who Let The Dogs Out?” peaked at #40 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Shaggy - "It Wasn't Me" (2000)
The inclusion of "It Wasn't Me" on this list requires a loose interpretation of dancehall. Jamaican singer (And Robb Bank$'s dad) Shaggy kicked off the '00s with what would go down as one of its most unforgettable tracks -- the tale of a man whose girlfriend has walked in on him copulating with the girl next door. He goes to his friend seeking counsel, and his friend advises him to deny, deny, deny... deny.
“It Wasn’t Me” peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Sean Paul - "Temperature" (2006)
Picking just one Sean Paul song for this list has been the single most difficult moment of my writing career. His 2002 album Dutty Rock introduced a generation of Americans to dancehall.
With all due respect to “Get Busy,” Paul’s biggest hit is “Temperature” -- a track so potent that it caused one New York woman to experience seizures each time she heard it. If that isn’t the mark of a true banger, I don’t know what is.
“Temperature” peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.