Three songs from three iconic Jamaican artistes across different generations have been named among Rolling Stone’s 250 greatest songs of the 21st century.
Koffee, Gyptian and Sean Paul all made the shortlist with tracks the iconic music magazine considers monumental beats in time.
Koffee’s infectious 2019 hit single, Toast, was the first local track featured on the list. Coming in at number 203, Toast was described by Rolling Stone as an “invigorating banger” with a “righteous refrain and an invincible hook”. Produced by IzyBeats, the single took the local and international airwaves by storm and was arguably the hottest single released in 2019.
In fact, as a ‘toast’ to the song’s dominance, the single was named on former president of the United States of America Barack Obama’s favourite songs of 2019 list.
The song was also included in his summer playlist for that year. As the song continued to its global ascension, so did the then 19-year-old reggae sensation.
Koffee made history that same year by becoming the youngest solo reggae act to receive a Grammy nomination in the Best Reggae Album category for her debut album Rapture. She ultimately won the Grammy when the announcements were made in 2020.
Outlining that its list is a “wide-ranging mix of different styles, different beats and different voices”, Rolling Stone’s also included Gyptian’s 2010 mega-hit, Hold Yuh.
The song’s inclusion comes weeks after Gyptian defended the track’s popularity amid discussions that Trinidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj made the song a global hit.
In an interview in late September, Gyptian said that while Minaj’s addition did introduce the song to a wider audience, the track was already a mainstream success. In fact, the entertainer stated that it was the song that made the rapper bigger and not the other way around.
Rolling Stone, in its assessment, seemingly agreed. In highlighting why the song made the cut, the music magazine said that although Hold Yuh “inspired many of the Caribbean’s hottest stars — including the song’s Jamaican-American producer, Ricky Blaze, and icons like Trinidad and Tobago’s Machel Mantano and Nicki Minaj — to render their own versions, Gyptian’s delivery in particular, drenched in passion and rasp, has always been most memorable”.
Describing the track as “equal parts sweet and sensual”, Hold Yuh has become a contemporary classic and was therefore deserving of its place at number 125 on the list of 250 greatest songs of the 21st century. The track ranked above global hits from Meg Thee Stallion, Miguel, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Rihanna.
As it continued to share its picks of iconic 21st-century bops, Rolling Stone said its criterion was not solely based on popularity or airplay, but also musical brilliance and originality. So it should come as no surprise that one of Jamaica’s most decorated and globally recognised musicians, Sean Paul, would be featured.
Rolling Stone may have had quite the brain-racking experience trying to narrow down which of the Grammy-winning deejays’ tracks to shortlist but they decided on platinum-selling, Billboard chart-topping hit, Get Busy.
Landing at number 92 on the list, Get Busy ranks ahead of songs from Taylor Swift, Destiny’s Child and Burna Boy and is the only song from a Jamaican artiste to break the top 100.
Released in 2003, Get Busy is featured on producer Steven “Lenky” Marsden’s Diwali rhythm, and is labelled by Rollingstone “one of those anthems that serve as a clarion call to the dance floor”.
