Reggae and dancehall music has always had an influence on music of all genres. Unless you live under a rock or are just not into music you can recall that Beenie Man and Bounty Killa, the two biggest names in dancehall music in the past 3 decades, had an epic Verzuz battle. Verzuz being the uber popular Instagram originated catalog battle between performers and their preeminent contemporaries. The brainchild of Swizz Beats and Timbaland. That Verzuz battle had over 400,000 participants.
One of the liveliest in the event series so far. Cheflodeezy, a Jamaican born Miami rapper and emcee, has on many occasions acknowledged the outsized influence of dancehall on his creative endeavors musically. His current single, Ass Up, which features Atlanta DJ Fatboy Rhymer is a clear nod to dancehall culture. The track pairs the vocals with an up-tempo beat to great effect. The music video for the track was recently released, and the Jamaican connection was thoroughly maintained.
The video was shot in Kingston, Jamaica by veteran video director Steven Bernard and features and is choreographed by the world-famous Jamaican dance collective, The Versatile Ones. It’s certainly great to see that even as the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic rages on. That musicians and creatives can still find ways to express their creativity. It does help to provide much needed distractions. The video was tailor made for the song and is the ideal and complementary visual for a cool track by an artist rising and forcing everyone to take notice.
The Miami emcee has been on a tear releasing music in 2020. Not just releasing music, but great music. His Kitchen Talk mixtape hosted by Georgia based DJ Chill Will is a throwback to great rap mixtapes. There is a sense that if the pandemic had not altered the musical landscape that we would be hearing and seeing more of the Miami artist. He is clearly however not simply sitting idly around. Check out the music video for Ass Up and you can find his music on all digital music platforms.
