Dancehall is probably the single most lively forms that reggae can take. As its name suggests, the idea is to move. It's jumpy, thumpin', and never fails to get a packed group of partygoers on their feet and dancing. While earlier dancehall was more stylistically linked to the early tropes that characterized roots reggae, as technology advanced and music generally became more synthesized, so too did dancehall--to the point where today, it could legitimately be considered its own genre. And with big names like Buju Banton and Bounty Killer all finding a place under the dancehall tent, it's surprisingly easy to find recognizable tunes and hooks. So if you find yourself with a dance itch you need to scratch, but you're tired of the same old electronic club fare, browse through the top five dancehall stations that we've listed below. To find these stations, just check out the Dancehall genre in the SHOUTCast directory.
Top 5 Dancehall Radio Stations
5) Zouker Radio
Zouker is all business. Their priority is clearly playing only the biggest hits and most addictively rhythmic dancehall tunes out there. It's where you'd wanna go if you're in the market for no-nonsense, non-frilly dancehall at its finest.
As you may guess, the playlists at BigVibez feature songs that are...well, big. But that's exactly what dancehall is; it's big beats, big vocals, and hugely exaggerated dance moves. Check out their website, too, for all the latest singles that have dropped, or the next big song that everyone will be dancing to in your local club.
Based in the UK, WebADub is an adorably named station, but don't let the name fool you-- these guys know dancehall. And within a few minutes, you'll probably realize how little you knew to begin with....which, of course, is always a good thing.
MKM plays a whole lot of hip hop and other mainstream urban music, but you'll also find plenty of dancehall deep cuts, too. This French station may seem a bit sleek and too cool for school at first glance, but give it a chance, and you'll find that when it comes to dancehall, there's absolutely no pretense whatsoever. Riddims, pure and simple.
It somehow seems appropriate that Raggakings would be seated atop our dancehall throne. And there's a real reason for that. With a seemingly endless supply of dancehall podcasts and live streams of bumpin' beats that seemingly never end (literally), Raggakings is where you go for everything you ever wanted to know about real dancehall.
