“They paved the way not just for me trying to do dancehall, but for Norwegian producers in general.” “They made authentic-sounding songs, and they’re literally from the place I grew up,” he says. “But was the first time I actually produced a song that really felt great like that.” The beatmaker, born Magnus Høiberg, cites fellow Norwegians Stargate (Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen) as the people who inspired him to experiment with Caribbean music. “I’d been playing this kind of music for a really long time, because all our DJ sets are just every kind of dance music,” he says. Though the producer already has serious pop bona fides - most recently, via four songs on The Weeknd’s Starboy - he’s always had an ear for dancehall, citing Alkaline and Tommy Lee Sparta as some of his contemporary favorites. “It was relieving and fun for me to make something else but apply the things I learned making reggae on other music.” Now residing in L.A., he’s part of the core production team, along with Diplo and King Henry, working on Major Lazer’s upcoming fourth album, Music Is the Weapon.īreakthrough Track: Ariana Grande, “Be My Baby” (2014)Ģ016 Hits: Tory Lanez, “LUV” Kanye West, “Wolves” “I spent maybe the last 20 years studying Jamaican music and trying to sound as authentically Jamaican as possible for a white guy from Germany,” says Blender, who also produced within the duo So Shifty. 2 on the Hot 100, and both blend dembow - the Jamaican-originated drum pattern that’s also the heartbeat of reggaeton - with soothing, Eastern-inspired melodies.
Since then, Blender has co-produced “Lean On” (2015) and “Cold Water,” the dancehall-inspired EDM outfit’s biggest hits to date. Germany’s Jr Blender (Philip Meckseper) was best known for bootleg reggae remixes of Rihanna and Bruno Mars songs when he was recruited by Diplo to work on original tracks for Major Lazer three years ago. MØ and DJ Snake, “Lean On” (2015)Ģ016 Hit: Major Lazer feat. “When we made the beat for ‘Controlla,’ I remember he put it aside and said, ‘I think Drake is gonna like this one…'”īreakthrough Track: Major Lazer feat. “Me and Boi-1da got into a room together, and made a ton of tracks - maybe five, six beats,” he recalls. “Controlla,” his highest-charting credit, grew from a group session at Miami’s Circle House Studio with Supa Dups and OVO producers including Boi-1da. Now based in Miami, McGregor has added Ne-Yo, Estelle, Nelly Furtado, Lianne La Havas and Shakira to his client list, while remaining one of dancehall’s most sought-after rhythm makers. 2006), bringing forth a darker-hued, orchestral approach to the genre. At 15, he ushered in a new era of dancehall with tracks like Mavado’s “Weh Dem Ah Do” (No. The son of reggae great Freddie McGregor, Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor has been producing professionally since he was 12. It wasn’t forced.”īreakthrough Track: Mavado, “Weh Dem Ah Do” (2006) Rihanna is actually West Indian, Drake understands the culture, PartyNextDoor is half Jamaican, I’m Jamaican, Boi-1da is Jamaican. “That song is one of a kind for a reason. “It’s almost like the industry has become saturated by people chasing ‘Work’ and trying to reproduce the same results,” Thomas says. “Work” has opened doors for Thomas, who also produced Drake’s “Pop Style” this year, but he doesn’t intend to exploit the trend by flooding the market with more dancehall-inspired pop.
When tropical house hit in 2015, Thomas says he and frequent collaborator Boi-1da saw an opportunity that would lead to them coming together to produce “Work.” “We were hearing tropical sounds and we wanted to authenticate it, and put our spin to it.” His Jamaican-born parents were DJs, and his uncle was dancehall artist Rappa Robert he was a child reggae singer before taking up hip-hop beats as he got older. Rupert “Sevn” Thomas grew up immersed in Jamaican sound system culture. Breakthrough Track: Drake, “10 Bands” (2015)