Reggae House
Located in 2 routes
Reggae house grafts reggae and ragga vocals onto four-on-the-floor house and Eurodance production — pumping kick drums, piano and organ stabs, rave synths and diva-or-toaster vocals at roughly 120–130 BPM. It swaps reggae's laid-back one-drop for club propulsion while keeping ragga's chatted hooks and offbeat accents. Productions are bright, energetic and radio-dance friendly. The mood is euphoric, uptempo and dancefloor-driven, reggae's patois riding a house pulse.
History
In the early-1990s UK and European rave and dance scenes, ragga vocals fused with house and Eurodance, producing crossover hits by Dr. Alban and the ragga-pop dance smashes of Chaka Demus & Pliers, Snow and Inner Circle. DJs and producers layered chatted Jamaican vocals over house beats in clubs and on radio, and the style thrived on the dance charts before dissolving back into wider dance-pop. It remains an emblem of reggae's early cross-pollination with electronic club music.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Official UK Charts and Billboard dance chart histories
- Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae
- music-press coverage of early-1990s ragga-dance crossover