Singjaying is a Jamaican style of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singer and

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

. The fusion of singing and deejaying occurred early in reggae music. Artists like Big Youth combined singing and toasting on tracks like "Sky Juice", "Every Negro Is A Star" and "Hit The Road Jack". However, the term "singjay" more accurately describes the transition from singer to deejay, rather than deejay to singer. This phenomenon happened years after the deejay style had gone mainstream. Among the earliest performers of what would later be known as singjaying is Michael Rose, who used to integrate highly rhythmic but completely meaningless deejay "

scatting In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

" in his roots songs. As the rhythm of reggae changed in the late 1970s and became what is now known as "rockers" style reggae, the themes changed as well. The classic roots themes were slowly being replaced by songs inspired by life at the dancehall. A change in vocal delivery accompanied this thematic change. Artists such as Echo Minott and

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, al ...

represent this "rockers" singjay style. Half Pint, known mostly for his "lovers" style, incorporated a singjay vocal style into his classic hit "Greetings". Around the mid-80s, the singjay style became the dominant and mainstream form of expression in Jamaican music.

Eek-A-Mouse Eek-A-Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a " singjay".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, ...

, Anthony Red Rose, King Kong, Pinchers, Wayne Smith, Courtney Melody, Conroy Smith, Lilly Melody,

Triston Palma Triston Palma aka Triston or Tristan Palmer (born 1962, Waltham Park, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer/deejay. He has been active since the mid-1970s. Biography Palma was born in 1962 and grew up in the Waltham Park area of Kingston, and ...

, Eccleton Jarrett, Nitty Gritty and

Yami Bolo Rolando Ephraim McLean (born 1 October 1970), better known as Yami Bolo, is a Jamaican reggae singer. Biography Yami Bolo grew up in postal zone 13 of Kingston. His first professional job and exposure was with Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion C ...

are all original singjays. Today's singjays include artists such as Mr. Vegas and Mavado, among others.

References

Reggae genres {{reggae-stub