Various

Ragga Ragga Ragga! 2011

BY Daniel SylvesterPublished Mar 29, 2011

Thanks to their pop savvy roster (from Shaggy and Beenie Man to Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder), Greensleeves Records managed to keep dancehall music on the U.S. charts over an impressive ten-year run. Ragga Ragga Ragga! (its yearly artist showcase comp, distributed by VP Records) once again swings for the charts, as artists like I-Octane, Vybz Kartel and Gyptian utilize modern studio trickery like Auto-Tune and synthesized hip-hop beats. Old-school hangers-on Elephant Man, Bounty Killer and Buju Banton sound slightly out-of-place on harder-than-core tracks like "Life of the Party" and "Gal," while slicker-than-slick up-and-comers Di Genius, T'Nez and Lolita round out the 16 track compilation. The inclusion of a bonus DVD, following the current Kingston dancehall scene, further demonstrates just how much pop and hip-hop have penetrated these once-fertile grounds. Ragga Ragga Ragga! shows a new Greensleeves roster, one that owe absolutely no loyalty to those that came before them. Shaggy may have been banal and dorky, but at least he had character.
(VP)

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