Wherever Hip Hop goes dancehall is usually right there, and DJ Cassidy celebrated some of the artists who charted the world with dancehall music in a commercial filled 20 minute TV Karaoke session. The set included one hit wonders as well as reggae superstars who crossed over into the American music market.
“This musical journey is brought to you by my musical heroes and is dedicated to all the party people from around the world,” said the master of ceremony as he kicked things off with Shaka Demus and Pliers. Seeting the pace with their reggae classic Murder She Wrote which peaked at number 57 on the Hot 100 chart.
The ageless duo Tanto Metro and Devonte did dancehall’s darling track Everyone Falls in Love, which has been sampled by Daddy Yankee, Tory Lanes, Chris Brown, Spice Girls and many other pop acts.
St. Vincentian artist Kevin Little crooned his turntable hit Turn Me On which peaked at number 27 on the billboard chart.
It was also refreshing to see 90s hit makers Terror Fabulous,Nadine Sutherland and Patra who sported a Jamaican flag.
Supercat was among the stand out performers of the night. He is a better TV performer than a stage performer. In a blue pin stripe suit he reminded people why he is a ghetto red hot legend in both Dancehall and Hip Hop genres. Other stand outs were Sinter Nancy, Barrington Levy, The Hot Steppa Ini Kamoze, Maxi Priest and Junior Ried.
Perhaps the most successful and well known artist on the line up was Shaggy who closed the show with his number 1 hit Angel featuring Rayvon.
Cassidy told The Source Magazine that “he really wanted to represent the various diverse facets of Reggae music, unbound by era, year, or decade”.
“Each of the sixteen songs featured on this show not only holds a special place in my heart, but holds a special place in the history of Reggae music and its massive influence on hip-hop, R&B, and pop music. Some dominated the hip-hop airwaves of radio stations like Hot 97 in the 1990s, while others topped the Billboard Pop Charts in the 1980s. Some fused with R&B and achieved massive commercial success, while others remain the most sampled songs of all times. Simply put, each of these records changed the game.” He said.
He previously did a Pass The Mic with Beenie Man, Sean Paul, and Wayne Wonder last June after the BET Awards. That set also included hip hop/R&B acts Mya, Ashanti, Akon, Nelly, Jadakiss, Kelis, and Ray J.
