After a long hiatus from the game, hip hop rapper Eve has resurfaced with a song, ‘Reload’ featuring dancehall’s Konshens. The reggae infused song comes six years after Eve dropped her last album ‘Lip Lock’ in 2013.
I am a big fan of collaborations from across the music genres as it brings a uniqueness that makes music less mundane at the end of the day. Artists can express themselves in a different way and makes for a different kind of song, away from their comfort zone.
Over the years there have been some memorable collaborations across the music genres. Taking nothing away from Konshens and Eve’s collaboration, where time will tell on its success, but there have been a few stand out ones worth mentioning.
The first one that comes to mind from reggae was legendary Bob Marley and RnB’s Lauryn Hill in the remix to ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’, released in 1999. The pair are legends in their respective genres, interestingly Lauryn achieved this only releasing one studio album on her own. ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ is her only solo album, not including the group albums she did while part of the Fugees. The fusion with Bob felt very natural as both artists had a similar style singing songs from the heart and their collaboration was an instant hit all over the world.
The other more interesting collaboration was that of rock group No Doubt and dancehall legend Bounty Killer in ‘Hey Baby’ released in 2001. The track put Bounty on the radar with American pop culture. The unique coming together of the different acts made for a top unexpected track capped off by winning Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 45th Grammy Awards.
Other notable to check out are;
Beyonce and Shatta Wale and Major Lazer – Already
Collie Buddz and Stonebwoy – Bounce It
Sting and Shaggy – 44/876 album
Vybz Kartel and Busta Rhymes and Beenie Man – Girlfriend
WSTRN and Alkaline – Textin
Damien Marley and Jay Z – Bam
Jon B and Beenie Man – Everytime
I can’t even get started with the Sean Paul collaborations as he has done numerous collaborations featuring Keisha Cole, DMX and Blu Cantrell just to mention a few. Jamaican music continues to grow and I love the new sound it comes with with all these unexpected collaborations.
