Gully Bop – Drop Mi
Gully Bop, otherwise known as Country Man, became a dancehall sensation when a two-year-old YouTube video was rediscovered and became a hit tune overnight. The 50-year-old Bop put in an impressive performance at Jamaica’s notoriously challenging Boxing Day dancehall festival, Sting. Though he’s already made headlines for splitting with his label and management as well as missing a much-needed dental appointment (the man has about three teeth in total), Gully Bop has made time for a new tune. This one touches on his label-related trials and tribulations alongside one-to-watch Bermudan MC Imari Wade.
Kabaka Pyramid – Lock Down D Place
Another memorable Sting performance was Kabaka Pyramid, dressed in a crisp white military uniform with red, green and gold accents, unleashing his Lock Down D Place tune. Kabaka’s flow, attitude and lyrics hark back to the late-90s Rastafari-inspired bashment sermons of folks such as Capleton and Sizzla. Though Sting is known for harsh, explicit and often profanity-laced lyrical confrontations, Kabaka’s first appearance at the event brought some serious consciousness to the arena.
Notis & Iba Mahr ft Tarrus Riley – Diamond Sox Remix
In the final weeks of 2014, Diamond Sox Remix got an 80s-themed video, complete with appropriate threads, reflecting the sartorial slant of the tune’s lyrics. Notis, who are Wayne “Unga” Thompson and Jason “BigBass” Welsh, seemingly take their lead from King Jammy’s 80s dancehall stylings. This is a trend for the production duo — their track with reggae revivalist Jesse Royal, Gimmie Likkle is in the same ballpark. Here’s hoping that Notis will crank out a few more 80s dancehall throwbacks over the next 12 months.
Olatunji – Ola
The likes of Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin and Kerwin Du Bois may be reliable when it comes to making darned good soca offerings, but listen to the lesser-known Olatunji. Ola is drawing rave reviews online with more than 1.5 m views on YouTube for this track alone. Not only is the “ola olay” chorus earworm fodder, but the rhythm demands dancing. Olatunji describes it as “African” in the song, but there’s more than a little bit of zouk in there, too. Perhaps some soca and zouk combination tunes could be more than a little interesting.
Fay-Ann Lyons – Don’t Tempt Me
It’s no surprise that Fay-Ann Lyons has more than one memorable 2014 soca tune. She is the most winning woman in soca, with three road march titles to her name. This year, between the poppy Break the World, the near-spiritual uplift of Raze, the combo with hubby Bunji Garlin and the speedy yet understated Drift, Lyon’s output has been pretty standout. Don’t Tempt Me is yet another — a groovy soca number with serious pop ambition.
