Reggae EDM

tagStarted 2009Peak 2013–2018Last big hit 2018

Located in 1 route

Reggae / Caribbean → Reggae Fusion / Reggae Pop

Reggae EDM drops reggae and dancehall vocals, riddims and toasts into electronic dance production — big-room, moombahton, trap and future-bass drops built for festivals at roughly 100–128 BPM. Booming synth basses, sirens, pitched vocal chops and euphoric builds meet dancehall's offbeat energy and patois hooks. Arrangements are loud, drop-driven and playlist-engineered. The mood is high-octane, festival-sized and party-forward.

History

Diplo's Major Lazer project (from 2009) pioneered the fusion, translating dancehall into global EDM and scoring worldwide with "Watch Out for This (Bumaye)," "Lean On" and "Light It Up." Sean Paul's mid-2010s pivot to EDM-pop collaborations ("No Lie," "Mad Love") cemented dancehall's place in festival dance music. Producers routinely built EDM drops around Jamaican vocalists, and the sound dominated 2010s dance-pop crossovers before folding back into mainstream pop.

Defining artists

Major LazerSpotify YouTube
Sean PaulSpotify YouTube
Stylo GSpotify YouTube
KonshensSpotify YouTube
Charly BlackSpotify YouTube
KraniumSpotify YouTube

Show 2 more

PopcaanSpotify YouTube
NylaSpotify YouTube

Essential listening

Lean On(2015) — Major LazerSpotify YouTube
Light It Up(2015) — Major LazerSpotify YouTube
Watch Out for This (Bumaye)(2013) — Major LazerSpotify YouTube
Cold Water(2016) — Major LazerSpotify YouTube
No Lie(2016) — Sean PaulSpotify YouTube
Mad Love(2018) — Sean PaulSpotify YouTube

← Explore Reggae / Caribbean

Sources

Billboard and Rolling Stone coverage of Major Lazer and dancehall-EDM
Fader features on Diplo and dancehall
Official UK Charts data