Deejaying

Deejaying
Music of Jamaica
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Regional music
v · talking or chanting, usually in a monotone melody, over a rhythm or beat by a deejay. The lyrics can be either improvised or pre-written. Toasting has been used in various African traditions, such as griots chanting over a drum beat, as well as in Jamaican music forms, such as dancehall, reggae, ska, dub, and lovers rock. Toasting's mix of talking and chanting may have influenced the development of MCing in US hip hop music. The combination of singing and toasting is known as singjaying.

Jamaican toasting

In the late 1950s deejay toasting was developed by Count Machuki.[1] He conceived the idea from listening to disc jockeys on American radio stations. He would do American jive over the music while selecting and playing R&B music. Deejays like Count Machuki working for producers would play the latest hits on traveling sound systems at parties and add their toasts or vocals to the music. These toasts consisted of comedy, boastful commentaries, chants, half-sung rhymes, rhythmic chants, squeals, screams, and rhymed storytelling.[2]

Osbourne Ruddock (aka King Tubby) was a Jamaican sound recording engineer who created vocal-less rhythm backing tracks that were used by DJs doing "toasting" by creating one-off vinyl discs (also known as dub plates) of songs without the vocals and adding echo and sound effects[citation needed].[3]

Late 1960s toasting deejays included U-Roy and Dennis Alcapone, the latter known for mixing gangster talk with humor in his toasting. In the early 1970s, toasting deejays included I-Roy (his nickname is an homage to U-Roy) and Dillinger, the latter known for his humorous toasting style. In the late 1970s, Trinity became a popular toasting deejay.

The 1980s saw the first deejay Toasting duo, Michigan & Smiley, and the development of toasting outside of Jamaica. In England, Pato Banton explored his Caribbean roots humorous and political toasting[2] and Ranking Roger of the Second Wave or Two-Tone ska revival band the Beat from the 1980s did Jamaican toasting over music that blended ska, pop, and some punk influences.

The rhythmic rhyming of vocals in Jamaican deejay toasting influenced the development of rapping in African-American hip-hop,[4] and the development of the Dancehall style.[2] (e.g., hip-hop pioneer and Jamaican expatriate DJ Kool Herc and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest). Jamaican deejay toasting also influenced various types of dance music, such as jungle music, and UK garage. Dancehall artists that have achieved pop hits with toasting-influenced vocals include Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, Lady Saw, and Sean Paul. Another up-and-coming Jamaican toasting star is Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley.

See also

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Deejaying —  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Disc jockey. Le Deejaying ou le toasting désigne un artiste vocal parlant ou chantant généralement de façon monotone sur un rythme ou un battement. Les textes peuvent être écrits ou improvisés et certains mots …   Wikipédia en Français

  • deejaying — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Deejay — Deejaying  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Disc jockey. Le Deejaying ou le toasting désigne un artiste vocal parlant ou chantant généralement de façon monotone sur un rythme ou un battement. Les texte peuvent être écrit ou improvisé et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Toaster — Deejaying  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Disc jockey. Le Deejaying ou le toasting désigne un artiste vocal parlant ou chantant généralement de façon monotone sur un rythme ou un battement. Les texte peuvent être écrit ou improvisé et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Toasting — Deejaying  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Disc jockey. Le Deejaying ou le toasting désigne un artiste vocal parlant ou chantant généralement de façon monotone sur un rythme ou un battement. Les texte peuvent être écrit ou improvisé et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hip-hop —  Pour le compilateur de PHP, voir HipHop for PHP  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Rap. Le hip hop, ou hip hop, est un mouvement culturel et artistique apparu aux États Unis à New York, dans le South Bronx au début des …   Wikipédia en Français

  • King Stitt — King Stitt, born Winston Spark (b. 17 September 1940 in Kingston, Jamaica), is a Jamaican DJ. Biography King Stitt is the oldest living Jamaican deejay. Sparkes was given the nickname Stitt as a boy and decided to use it as his stage name,… …   Wikipedia

  • Wax Murdaraz — are a crew of vinyl specialists united to enhance the public s understanding about the art of hip hop deejaying and music production. The roots of the group date back over a decade in which founding members (Da Fly) D Ex and DJ Professional… …   Wikipedia

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  • Adam Goldstein — For the technical author, see Adam Goldstein (author). Adam Goldstein DJ AM in December 2008 Background information Birth name Adam Michael Goldstein …   Wikipedia

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