The 10 best dancehall tracks, according to Kahn

Bristol’s Kahn is a producer of note who makes dubby garage – or garage-y dub – with heat, tension and drama. Following a clutch of heavy releases on Punch Drunk Records, his most recent 12” (Margeaux for Idle Hands back in May) found him in a more soulful, contemplative mood. Here he celebrates his love of dancehall with ten “wicked and bad joints” for your listening pleasure. Read the reasons behind Kahn’s selections below and scroll down for the full Youtube playlist.

Nitty Gritty Key To Your Heart
One of my favourite reggae/dancehall vocalists, the late, great Nitty Gritty. One of the first artists to get me into the early digital dancehall style, I love how unusual and melancholy his voice is.
Pampidou Governor General
Old school tune dis, absolute dancehall killer. Pampidou coming with his unmistakable ‘rockstone’ style, love it!
Shabba Ranks No Bother Dis
Late 80s style and fashion from Shabba, wicked sound clash tune.
Baby Cham Galang Ya Gal
Again, a really simple riddim but gets the people dancing trussst me! Taken from a real golden age of ragga dancehall, one for the gyal.
Lexxus Redder Now
I love the Bad Weather riddim, that real simple style of dancehall is so lethal. Lexxus’ monotone delivery just gets me going, I dunno why!
Burro Banton Boom Wah Dis (Street Sweeper Riddim)
I run this tune in the dance whenever I can, the legendary Burro Banton with that veteran deejay style. I guarantee if you play this tune out you’ll have a gang o’ gyal dancing at the front before the first chorus!
Cutty Ranks Retreat (Sound Boy)
There’s so many Cutty Ranks tracks I could choose to include, thought I’d go for one I have on vinyl that is a personal favourite and crucial soundclash tune.
Red Rat Bun Dem
Dancefloor killer. I love Red Rat’s delivery on this, you can really hear his anger at politicians, injustice and such. I’d definitely drop this if we had our sound system set up in a riot.
Capleton Mash Up Da Place Yah
A more modern cut from Capleton. I love the energy in this tune, that vocal is the definition of ‘more fire’.
Razor X Productions WWW feat. Mexican
Hardcore cut dis, not to everyone’s taste! I remember when I bought this on vinyl when I was about 17 just thinking how fucked and distorted the vocals were but just not being able to resist the raw power of it. One to listen to if I’m really pissed off about something.