Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s.[1] Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.

In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall (or “ragga”) becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. In the mid-1990s with the rise of dancehall BoboShanti artists, such as Sizzla and Capleton, developed a very strong connection between dancehall and Rastafari.

The fame of Dancehall began to be confronted by a lot of criticism due to it’s adopted style of lyrics that was vulgar, promoting gun man lyrics and homophobia lyrics.

Two of the biggest deejay stars of the early dancehall era, Yellowman and Eek-a-Mouse, chose humour rather than violence. Yellowman became the first Jamaican deejay to be signed to a major American record label, and for a time enjoyed a level of popularity in Jamaica to rival Bob Marley’s peak.

The early 1980s also saw the emergence of female deejays in dancehall music, including: Sister Charmaine, Lady G, Lady Junie, Junie Ranks, Lady Saw, Sister Nancy and Shelly Thunder.

Dancehall brought a new generation of producers; Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson, Gussie Clarke and Jah Thomas took over from the producers who had dominated in the 1970s.

			Read the continuation: Dancehall became a music style that ushered in Atrists like Bujubanton, Shaba Ranks, Queen patra, Bounty killer, Pappa San .