Top 10 Best Dancehall Artists In The World (2023)

Check out the Top 10 Best Dancehall Artists In The World currently. Dancehall music is one of the world’s most famous, and it actually started in Jamaica as far back as in the 1970s. Dancehall started as an offshoot of reggae and was widely embraced by tons of music lovers from different places in the world. 

Today, the lovers of Dancehall are not just found in the Caribbean, but in other continents too. There are a lot of fans enjoying everything about Dancehall music, and, as expected, there are a handful of Dancehall artists out there too. It is easy for any artist to decide to go into the genre, but then, it takes talents and skills to keep up flourishing in the genre. While there are many artists around the genre right now, some artists are much better than others, and we will explore the top best Dancehall artists in the world. 

So, who are the best among the rest? Check them out:

Top 10 Best Dancehall Artists In The World

1. Vybz Kartel

Vybz Kartel is regarded as the best Dancehall artist in the world today as a result of his impressive exploits that have brought about a lot of success in his career. He has the most hits in dancehall and has been sitting at the top of the charts for a long time. As things stand now, he remains the best, with lots of fans from different parts of the world. 

2. Popcaan

Popcaan is one of the best dancehall artists in the world and he has worked with some big producers to make some of his songs. Some months back, he released some popular dancehall tracks, including “Stray Dog”. 

He started from scratch and broke into the scene when he began working with Vybz Kartel. Since Kartel was his mentor, he adopted his style and proceeded to become well-known and popular. He soon started working with top producers and well-known artists, and it helped him to become a dancehall artist with many fans. 

3. Shatta Wale

Shatta Wale is regarded as the best dancehall artist in Africa as things stand now, and he is well-known in various parts of the continent. He is from Ghana that has been a source of inspiration to many folks around. He was born in 1984 as Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr and has been a lover of music from childhood. Also known as the Dancehall Kin, he left school and traveled to Jamaica where he got trained in the industry and is now a reggae and dancehall artiste. 

4. Mavado

Mavado was born in 1981 as David Constantine Brooks and grew up in Kingston, Jamaica’s Cassava Piece community. He is a singer who is with We the Best Music Group and has worked hard to become one of the best dancehall artists in the world. 

When he was younger, he was influenced by Bounty Killer – who became a mentor for him in the music industry. Outside music, he adored his mother so much and she became his idol. By staying with Bounty, he was introduced to Julian Jones-Griffith. His stage name came as a mistake. It happened that he chose to call himself Movado (after the popular watch firm). Unfortunately, his manager altered his name to “Mavado”, and he continued being called that.

5. Alkaline

Alkaline has always appeared cool years before now, even as a youngster. The talented singer is known for his good music. He has, on several occasions, made superb songs with his style of singing. It happens that he became very known at the time Vybz Kartel was thrown behind bars. He proved that he has what it takes to be a dancehall master.

A few years back, Alkaline released some tracks that became quite popular. He sang the likes of “Pretty Girl Team” and “Impact”. He also worked with the likes of Sean Paul and he kept feeding dancehall lovers with the type of music they enjoy dancing to. He is getting popular and earning more fans and supporters, as he is getting some needed support in what he does. His supporters anticipate more of his songs, and he keeps trying to get better. 

6. Sean Paul

The “Give it Up to Me,” artist is the next guy on the list of the best dancehall artists in the world, as he has come up with several Dancehall music that has won him several awards, including the Grammy Award. Sean Paul has made a lot of albums that have received wide patronage from his fans and supporters from different parts of the world. In fact, his second album won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album back in the year 2004. Sean’s supporters love his outstanding dancehall performances and great tunes. 

One of the great things about him is the fact that he is not only dominating the dancehall industry but also doing well in other genres. He has produced pop songs that were embraced, reggae songs that went wide, and so on. Sean Paul is obviously one of the best and most talented guys around. 

7. Busy Signal

Up next is another superb dancehall guy known as Busy Signal. He is a pretty talented guy who is known for his skill to always maintain his flow irrespective of what he is doing on stage (that is, either he is singing reggae or doing dancehall). He is one of the artists that pay good attention to their lyrics – and he is loved for this by his pools of supporters. He has made several dancehall songs that have been extremely successful – including the likes of “Go Again”, and “Everywhere”, 

8. Beenie Man

Another popular and successful dancehall artist is Beenie Man, and he is regarded as one of the most innovative Jamaican artists around. He witnessed a breakthrough with his  “King of Dancehall” and has been producing other dancehall songs before the arrival of others as far as the music industry is concerned. He has a lot of fans and supporters from different places in the world who keep supporting his career. Beenie has also made tons of songs in other genres like reggae and raga.

9. Spice 

Born as Grace Latoya Hamilton in Jamaica, she, unfortunately, lost her dad when she was just nine, and she stayed with her grandparents in the United Kingdom. She schooled in London before coming back to Jamaica to continue her life. Though she planned to become an accountant, she found herself in the music industry and she began doing well. Spice started trying dancehall music, and she did so well that she became one of the best in the industry. 

10. Stonebwoy

STONEBWOY is another superb dancehall artist doing well in the African music industry and is doing well for himself. He has a lot of fans from different parts of the continent and he has won many awards since he started. Born in 1988 as Livingstone Etse Satekla, STONEBWOY was raised in Greater Accra Region, and he has grown into a popular artiste who now owns his own record label used in promoting himself as an artist ( Burniton Music Group)

Shaggy

Shaggy is another extremely talented Dancehall artist. He became highly famous when his 2001 album (“Hot Shot”) went viral and sold millions of copies in different parts of the globe). The success of the album boosted his popularity and made him rank higher in the circle of dancehall artists.  

Konshens

One of the best guys in the dancehall industry is Konshens. He has a lot of fans around the world and has quickly become an international dancehall artist following the success of his songs. He is pretty talented and has worked with the likes of Chris Brown. Recently, he held some superb shows that led to an upgrade in his popularity, and he remains one of the best dancehall artists out there. 

Sizzla Kalonji

Next on the list is Sizzla Kalonji, who is another superb dancehall artist. He is very talented and is one of those that ensure they bring up nothing but superb lyrics. He is not only good when it comes to singing, but also when it comes to writing songs. 

Sizzla is regarded as one of the most superb dancehall artists in the world as he sings superbly. It is agreed by many that he sings stuff that has the capacity to inspire the listeners and could lift them when they are feeling low. 

It should also be added that since he released his first album in 1990, he has brought up to 56 albums, and his songs are mainly about politics and the social justice system of his country. 

Like many others in Jamaica, Sizzla’s made known his Rastafarian roots in his songs. Well, many of them have Rastafarian roots, visible in their appearances. 

Lady Saw

Finally is Lady Saw. She is one of the females in the industry doing pretty well for herself and is referred to as the Queen of Dancehall. Lady Saw, who is also called Marion Hall, is a successful singer with tons of fans that follows her activities every now and then. 

Lady Saw is quite talented and sings with impeccable lyrics (which is something her fans love about her). She has the reputation of being the first-ever female DJ to win a Grammy. This woman is one of the most prominent pioneers of dancehall music and is widely respected. Though females venturing into Dancehall music are not as much as their male counterparts, a woman like Lady Saw has excelled in a male-dominated industry. She has achieved a lot with dancehall music compared to many guys still doing the genre.

Nevertheless, she is now into gospel music and sings gospel. Yet, she still has supporters and fans who remain loyal to her brand, and she doing fine. 

So, here are the best Dancehall artists in the world as things stand now. One thing you should notice is that Jamaica dominated the list. The reason is not farfetched. The reason is simply that the genre came from the country, and they have been so familiar with it there in the Caribbean before it went viral in other places. 

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