Dancehall icon Sean Paul and young deejay TeeJay set the stage on fire at the Madison Square Gardens during the sold-out Hot 97 ’50 Years Of Hip-Hop’ celebration concert on Friday. The star-studded event also had French Montana, Wu-Tang Clan, Mary J. Blige, Diddy, and EPMD who did a tribute to Tupac.
TeeJay, whose real name is Timoy Jones, but at the Manhattan venue and shared snapshots of his experience backstage with rapper Coi Leray and French Montana.
Sean Paul, not to be outdone, took to Instagram on Saturday, captioning a series of photos from the Hip Hop 50 event with, “NYC, it’s always a blessing to be back in the Big Apple RRR!!! Much love and respect to all these legends and those who continue to contribute to the culture #HipHop50 #DancehallNahStall.”
Next year marks 50 years since dancehall’s first song was released according to former Columbia A&R Maxine Isis Stowe.
Both dancehall Hip Hop are inspired by the Jamaican sound system culture as Hip Hop’s founding father DJ Kool Herc lived in Trench Town, Jamaica next door to Sugar Minott, who released the first riddim driven song “Wrong Doers.”
“Hip Hop’s first events were what happened at the Party because of Kool Herc’s technique that he learned by literally growing up next door to a Dancehall and being inspired by the culture to start playing it. This led to his manipulation within playing breaks between the turntables that allowed for unique vocalizing and as important dancing that is recognized as crystallizing the Genre,” Stowe confimed with World Music Views.
Stowe says the song “Wrong Doers” by Sugar Minott released by Studio One in 1974 follows a similar storyline as Herc’s party because Minott grew up next door to the Dancehall space.
“Being influenced by its culture, they both (DJ Kool Herc Here and Sugar Minott) acknowledge Prince Buster as being their “God.” She says Sugar Minott became a Selector on the Sound System which is similar to being a DJ in Hip Hop.
“(Minott) became so educated on Riddim’s/Versions that in becoming a Solo Artist at Studio One, he became the first to innovate the “reusable riddim” that became the standard of the Dancehall Genre. So The Party was the space for Kool Herc & The Studio for Sugar, both happening in the exact same era!” Stowe explained.
