Katt Williams actually set the tone for 2024. Lower than every week after the Emmy-winning comic fired photographs at friends akin to Rickey Smiley and Tyler Perry on Shannon Sharpe’s Membership Shay Shay podcast, two of latest dancehall’s main women launched their very own lyrical battle.
Funnily sufficient, the 2 main January dancehall clashes — Jada Kingdom v. Stefflon Don and Teejay v. Valiant — middle across the two largest dancehall crossover smashes of 2023: Teejay & DJ Mac’s “Drift” and Byron Messia & Burna Boy‘s “Talibans II.” Fortunately, each clashes have been saved on wax, as all artists concerned participated within the battles for followers’ leisure and the better dancehall tradition over the rest.
“That is dancehall music, and as soon as it’s [a] lyrical battle, I’m down for it,” Teejay informed DancehallMag. “Nothing violent; nothing out of the studio, nothing outrageous… simply music, and if it looks as if it’s getting too far, I’ll positively wrap this up, as a result of you understand we’ve to get again to the cash at occasions— that’s the larger image… for now, we’ve to simply entertain individuals however nothing critical. I don’t know concerning the subsequent aspect, however on my aspect I’m positively positive that it’s simply music.”
Whereas the hip-hop world is frenzied with haphazard rap beefs peppered with days of spiraling in lieu of precise good music, dancehall’s conflict tradition continues to be going sturdy and additional emphasizing the worldwide attain of this iteration of the style — particularly contemplating how a lot these battles dominated on-line conversations in January. When you’re not already acquainted with the main points, right here’s a primer on each of them.
Jada Kingdom v. Stefflon Don
Because the outdated saying goes: Consider the messiest particular person you understand. It’s a person, ain’t it?
On the eye of the hurricane that was Jada Kingdom and Stefflon Don’s five-song conflict lies Grammy-winning Afrobeats crossover star Burna Boy. The “Final Final” singer is an ex of Stefflon Don’s, and as soon as photos of Jada and him began making the rounds on social media, tensions started to rise. Earlier than the women took it to the sales space, Steff threw some obscure Instagram Story shade that she later clarified as directed in the direction of her former managers. The “Hurtin Me” singer would quickly throw extra shade that finally sparked the primary monitor in her conflict with Kingdom.
Earlier than that second, nonetheless, Burna’s remix of Byron Messia’s breakout hit, “Talibans,” hit the airwaves. In verse three of the track — which hit No. 99 on the Billboard Scorching 100 — Burna croons, “The entire finest pumpum deh yah Kingston/ So me purchase a Birkin fi Jada Kingdom.” Burna wasn’t simply bragging about his new fling; the road can be a play on the “You gon want a Birkin should you wanna present me off” lyric from Jada’s “Flip Me On” (with The 9ine).
By autumn, Jada — often known as Twinkle — was seen with Pardison Fontaine, Grammy-winning songwriter and former beau of Megan Thee Stallion. However with the rumor mill swirling a couple of December reconciliation between Steff and Burna, the timeline between the 2 flings began to look a bit funky.
Naturally, months of rigidity gave strategy to Steff placing her emotions to wax. On the prime of the brand new yr, the award-winning Brit shared a teaser of a brand new track on Rvssian’s “Dutty Cash” riddim, by which she threatens to “field” an unspecified lady who messed together with her man. In complete unhealthy gyal realness, Jada not solely confirmed an informal fling with Burna Boy, however she additionally pressed Steff to make clear simply who was going to get boxed. After a bit extra forwards and backwards, Steff’s “Dat a Dat” arrived and the conflict ensued, finally ending after two tracks from Jada and three from Steff.
“For everybody who’s saying ‘warfare begin’, warfare jus finished! Properly, for me that’s,” Jada Kingdom wrote in an Instagram Story (Jan. 9). “I’m in a contented and wholesome relationship now, I received’t be prolonging this nonsense.”
Teejay v. Valiant
Teejay & DJ Mac’s “Drift” was one of many defining world hits of 2023 — and debate over which artist is extra liable for the track’s success is the idea of this conflict. Throughout an Instagram Reside a couple of months in the past, Teejay blasted Mac for allegedly making an attempt to swindle Panda out of manufacturing credit on the hit track.
On his October DJ Mac-produced “Beer & Salt” single — which was featured on that month’s Reggae/Dancehall Recent Picks column — Valiant jabbed, “Mac them a hyperlink when them can’t discover a hit track,” a transparent hit at Teejay, who not too long ago repped dancehall on one in every of Billboard‘s 5 Style Now cowl tales this month (Jan. 10). In a Jan. 14 interview on the Let’s Be Sincere podcast hosted by Jaii Frais, Teejay acknowledged the shade, and shortly sufficient, Valiant responded to the acknowledgement through Instagram, spurring Teejay to preview a diss monitor shortly thereafter.
Nonetheless, the conflict stayed on social media for a bit longer. Valiant responded to Teejay’s preview with a message on his Instagram Story that learn, “Me naah provide you with no energy for you EP sir, go work and market it.” I Am Chippy — Teejay’s first mission since signing to Warner Information final yr — is slated for a Feb. 2 launch. Proper after the IG Story jab, Valiant then went stay with DJ Mac himself because the “Drift” riddim performed within the background. After yet one more Instagram Reside from Teejay’s aspect, by which he doubled down on his DJ Mac’s disses, the musical section of the conflict started.
After two tracks every from each Teejay and Valiant, the 2 artists put their beef to mattress. Whereas all 4 songs are at the moment obtainable on their respective official YouTube pages, each dancehall stars have since eliminated the songs from their respective official Instagram pages out of respect for each other.
With none additional ado, right here’s a rating of the eight songs that made up two of the most important modern dancehall clashes of the younger decade.However first be sure you try our Spotify playlist highlighting January’s hottest new tracks throughout reggae, dancehall, soca, calypso and extra.
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Teejay, ‘Chapter 2’
For his sequel to “Chapter 1” — and his ultimate entry on this conflict — Teejay strikes away from the “Drumline” riddim, however nonetheless gravitates towards one stacked with comparable marching band-esque percussion. In all honesty, Teejay v. Valiant wasn’t practically as entertaining as Steff vs. Jada, however not less than this conflict gave Teejay an opportunity to point out off his uncooked abilities — particularly contemplating a complete new viewers encountered him by “Drift,” an Afrobeats-tinged monitor that’s worlds away from the extra conventional dancehall of his conflict tracks.
“Since a hero yuh wah fi be me a guh murda you an yuh household/ Cease name up huge lady identify inna track likkle bwoy, wid dat yuh wah warfare, Chippy,” he proclaims within the monitor’s opening traces. Good to deal with the overall idea of Valiant’s final diss monitor on the onset, however to by no means really reclaim your given identify and as an alternative select to remain behind your nickname… that’s actually a stumble! On the very least, “Chapter 1” well continues the cinematic through-line of its predecessor, due to Teejay’s interpolation of the “Kids, collect round, no retreat, no give up” battle cry from 300.
Greatest Line: “Yuh boss neva inform yuh, how Chippy dem keep, nuh diss a nasty man from bay / Cyah unhealthy me up a sport yuh deh play, yuh ah huge Mickey, Mac by no means buss a AK”
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Jada Kingdom, ‘Steff Lazarus’
When it comes taking part in with ideas, Jada had the sting in her conflict with Stefflon Don. Riffing on the Biblical story of Lazarus, Jada’s “Steff Lazarus” is a blistering response to an opponent she had presumed lifeless after the primary spherical. “Yuh should identify Steff Lazarus/ Rise from di lifeless ah give chat how dis potential/ Who put yuh inna di mid discipline/ Wen dem know seh yuh cyah deal with/ Weh yuh know bout warfare?/ P—y, come mek mi collect yuh,” she opens her first verse.
The instrumental commences with a sung interpolation of Steam’s everlasting 1969 Scorching 100-topper “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” Jada then dives headfirst right into a rapid-fire verse by which she employs a gruffer tone to enrich her gobsmacking allegations of incest and borderline prostitution: “You might be di solely gyal weh me hear give free fuck/ Masicka & Tory Lanez cum inna yuh mouth/ Drake nevеr gi yuh di track however yuh give him a great suck,” she spits.
The place “Steff Lazarus” fails is that Jada depends an excessive amount of on the shock worth of her disses and never sufficient on the intricacy of her phrase play, not to mention the redundancy of her stream. In actual fact, many of the disses depend on homophobia and the movie star standing of males not concerned within the conflict — which makes for a diss that truly doesn’t do this a lot harm to Steff on the finish of the day.
Greatest Line: “Cease publish fi di gram yuh look idiot like/ Meet mi pon di battlefield you and di botch physique dawg too badmind/ Mi can defend mi self, weh yuh really feel like?”
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Valiant, ‘Timoya’
For his first response to Teejay, Valiant additionally took on the “Drumline” riddim. He places up a great struggle, citing Teejay’s deceased homies, flipping a number of “Drift” allusions to strive knocking the breakout star down a couple of pegs, and employs a stream paying homage to each Vybz and Mavado. After all, he does all this on a track with a title that’s a female play on Teejay’s actual identify: Timoy v. Timoya. Definitely ok to warrant a second spherical.
Greatest Line: “A wah do batty bwoy Timoya, we nuh ‘fraid fi hearth/ Catch yuh face pon a p—y have an image/ Yuh coulda drift a likkle extra however mi wealthy ah yuh”
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Stefflon Don, ‘Dat A Dat’
Right here, we’ve the monitor that began all of it. Over Rvssian’s “Dutty Cash” riddim, Stefflon is available in scorching, firing eye-popping photographs at Jada. “Yuh too begg-beggy, yuh no have ambition/ Yuh a sеll out yuh physique, however a hype pon eh ‘gram/ And dat a simply dat,” she spits. Her tone — which floats between nonchalance and reducing disgust — performs on the booming bass and horn accents that anchor the riddim.
Steff goes comparatively straightforward on Twinkle right here, however she nonetheless crafts a track that’s genuinely pleasing outdoors of the context of the conflict. The DJ Mustard-esque “heys” within the background threaten to render the monitor a throwaway, however Steff pulls by; she bought some good licks in whereas sustaining the vibe.
Greatest Line: “Tight, tight p—y gyal nuh struggle over man/ However you a get mistaken bang should you play wid di Don/ Again street gyal a neva you me a chat, if di cap match yuh fi put on it/ Dat a dat”
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Stefflon Don, ‘#DeadGyalWalking’
As a response, to “London Mattress,” “#DeadGyalWalking” comes up a bit brief, but it surely’s nonetheless a fantastic displaying. Right here, Steff begins to get as vulgar and shock value-minded as Jada, albeit with a greater grasp on her stream and wordplay. “Unu really feel seh me afraid, yuh ah run up an ah speak bout pedophile/ And yuh mek a 17 yr outdated breed yuh/ And yuh did ah strive f—ok mi batty boy cousin/ How a lot p—y yuh suck bout a dozen/ Yuh madda shoulda swallow that sperm,” she snarls.
It’s good to see Steff getting her palms soiled after Jada demarcated simply how low this conflict might go. The actual star of this response, nonetheless, is the expected-but-still-lethal interpolation of the “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” melody to taunt Ms. Twinkle herself.
Greatest Line: “How yuh neva inna weblog fi yuh music/ Solely time yuh inna ah weblog is when yuh suck d—ok/ Oh you ship fi di Don and also you no have hits/ Di man inform me say your love drink piss”
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Teejay, ‘Chapter 1’
Within the case of Teejay v. Valiant, the “Drift” emcee threw the primary (musical) shot. Reaching again to 2007 to spit over Black Chiney’s “Drumline Riddim,” Teejay pairs the beat’s foreboding horns and militant snares with a mix of direct jabs at Valiant and a few stray photographs at former sparring companion Byron Messia. “A very long time me a purchase gun/ Di aguh mek bygone be bygones/ Nuh bwoy gaah dis me and get weh / Afta me nuh huge fool like Byron,” he spits.
Lyrically, Teejay gave Valiant an actual struggle. Simply take the through-line of movie allusions, for instance. “Inform dem chippy, dem a motion film p—y dem/ A comedy present like Jackie chan,” he raps, earlier than later spitting, “Me will path yuh automotive me g like/ Scarface, however me in the past blast up everyman inna dat.” To not point out, Teejay will get additional factors for not solely reviving such a pristine riddim, but in addition for pulling inspiration from collaborator Vybz Kartel’s tackle it.
Greatest Line: “Me nuh use energy like Samson/ 4-4 magnum buss it like Charles’ grandson/ Increase up di f—g Tom Thompson/ Outta dis world bwoy, delete, life cancel”
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Valiant, ‘Lippy’
For his ultimate entry in his conflict with Teejay, Valiant well picks up the place his opponent stumbled. Simply as he successfully made Teejay’s given identify into an insult on “Timoya,” Valiant does the identical to the emcee’s nickname by re-christening him as “Lippy.”
Over the identical riddim as “Chapter 2,” Valiant delivers a blazing protection by which he employs an instantly arrestling stream accented with well positioned growls and snarls to emphasise his most abrasive traces. “Step inna di warfare wid bloodclaat information/ Di don from south gi yuh couple exhausting field/ Logiks f—ok batty yuh no speak bout dat/ Celine inform Jaii say yuh tongue rougher than c—ok,” he spits. Valiant has an actual knack for flipping harmless items of data into a few of the foulest jabs, and that’s what makes “Lippy” such a heater. Something is usually a goal should you strive exhausting sufficient, and Valiant effortlessly proves that throughout each rapid-fire verses.
Greatest Line: “Uptown, categorical yuh self Timoya / Me wah yuh fi inform complete Jamaica/ Yuh life fuck d—s it boosts yuh nature/ And di home you a publish di mortgage nuh pay for”
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Jada Kingdom, ‘London Mattress’
Let’s be actual, Jada smoked Steff right here. She got here in scorching, slid throughout the monitor with astonishing ease, and bought some depraved lashes in — and he or she did all of it whereas flipping the very track that the majority of this conflict will be traced again to. The opening notes of “Talibans” have already change into a rallying cry for dancehall devotees all over the world, however when Jada’s siren-esque voice uttered these opening “duh duh” vocalizations, the monitor morphed into a brand new beast.
After all, earlier than Jada launches into her verse, she clips Burna’s “Birkin” lyric — which you’ll keep in mind from the third verse of his “Talibans” remix — and lets out a sinister chuckle as quickly because the snippet ends. It’s that sort of persona that instantly makes Jada’s disses probably the most entertaining of the bunch. Within the refrain, she spits, “Yuh coward like p—, yuh nuh unhealthy from nuh approach/ A likkle chump change, put a value pon yuh head/ You have got a pedophile bredda and a lifeless dat fi lifeless.”
Serving as her first response to Steff, Jada positively rose to the event. Her voice — which accents its honeyed high quality with a wholesome dose of rasp — is the automobile by which she exquisitely delivers probably the most jaw-dropping barbs in a seemingly innocuous approach, making for a slam dunk of a response.
Greatest Line: “And yuh want fi cease pimp out di likkle gyal/ Yuh too f—g careless fi an enormous lady/ Yuh muss a run a whorehouse up a London/ No likkle b—h cyaan press mi, dat a one”
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Stefflon Don, ‘#DeadGyalTalking’
And right here it’s: the monitor that put an finish to the Jada Kingdom v. Stefflon Don conflict. From Kayzee’s brooding manufacturing and Steff’s sinister supply to the flexibility of the stream and her concise takedowns of Jada’s outlandish accusations, it is a verifiably nice conflict monitor.
Merely by her intonation, Steff means enterprise. She beefs up the bass in her voice, securing a throaty basis for supply that shifts from commanding bellows to catty whispers on the drop of a dime. Kayzee’s manufacturing is regular — however as soon as these drums kick in over the past half of the monitor, they expertly ratchet up the track’s general sense of urgency to enrich the gruff sincerity of Steff’s voice.
Nonetheless, maybe the funniest a part of “#DeadGyalTalking” is the chat session that closes the track, with Steff and her goons mocking Jada, quipping “Oh my God! I’m so scared, Jada! I’m so scared! and “I took an additional day as a result of, you understand, some individuals bought… issues to do.”
Greatest Line: “How yuh fi strive diss Don Madda/ 16 photographs sen it up inna yuh bladdеr/ An mi deliver my son, by no means kill my son/ My p—y deliver life lifе, your p—y deliver none”
