The Heatwave Charts - Carnival 2010

We've already detailed the essential parties that you need to attend this weekend.

Now in part two of our Carnival Survival Guide it's all about the anthems: these are tunes that we think will be running the streets of Notting Hill.

Dancehall

1. Gyptian - Hold Yuh
2. Vybz Kartel, Popcaan & Gaza Slim - Clarks
3. Mr Lexx - Dem A Pree
4. Gappy Ranks - Stinking Rich
5. Wayne Marshall - My Heart
6. Vybz Kartel, Mavado & Mr Vegas - Triple Bounce Riddim
7. Mavado - Gyal A Mad Ova
8. Nas & Damian Marley - As We Enter
9. Vybz Kartel - Slow Motion
10. Gappy Ranks - Heaven In Her Eyes
11. Mavado & Stacious - Come Into My Room
12. G Whizz - Life

And this is what we expect the floats to be pumping out, accompanied by some hard wining and definitely a lot of palancing!

Soca

1. JW & Blaze - Palance
2. Skinny Fabulous - Charge Up
3. Fadda Fox - Staggerah
4. Patch - Pipe
5. Machel Montano - Bumper To Fender

Finally, five tunes that will get huge forwards at our various sets over the weekend, even if they're not ubiquitous at carnival itself.

Wildcards

1. Mad Dog - Tek De Floor
2. Mr Lexx & Congorock - Babylon
3. Ms Dynamite & Zinc - Wile Out
4. Lady Chann & Sticky - Sticky Situation
5. The Heatwave & Serocee - War Dance

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Tuesday 24 August 2010 | 2 comments

The Heatwave Chart - August 2010

This month's top ten tunes...

1. Vybz Kartel & Max Glazer - Whine (Wine)
2. Sean Paul - Hey Ya (Circus Riddim)
3. Mr Lexx - Wine Pon Me (Lunatic Riddim)
4. J Boog - Let's Do It Again (Major & Minor Riddim)
5. Wayne Marshall & Mavado - My Heart (Remix)
6. Sheba - Caan Do Mi Nutten (Bankrobbers Riddim)
7. Beenie Man - Dancehall Nuh Dead Yet (Raw Soul Hits Riddim)
8. Doctor & Sticky - Sick (Jack It Up Riddim)
9. Buju Banton, Beyonce & Sean Paul - Americano (The Heatwave Refix)
10. Busy Signal & Elvis Crespo - Busy Latino

...which fit into one of four categories:

Comebacks and debuts

New York soundman Max Glazer (below) drops his debut production - and it's a banger - while Sean Paul goes hard on Jeremy Harding's return to bashment riddim making.

Anthems

Wayne Marshall's piano-driven My Heart looks set for crossover success while Beenie Man pleads the case for distinctly Jamaican music with an anthemic hook on Dancehall Nuh Dead Yet.

Versions

Doctor destroys Sticky's Jack It Up riddim, Busy Signal reworks Elvis Crespo's massive 1998 merengue hit Suavemente and recent UK number one We No Speak Americano gets the Heatwave refix treatment. Oh and Mr Lexx (below) twists I Got 5 On It into a wining tune.

Future promise

Two young artists on two contrasting riddims from Don Corleon. Polynesian reggae singer J Boog gets sweet and melodic on the Major riddim and Gaza protégé Sheba goes very raw on Bankrobbers.

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Wednesday 18 August 2010 | Add a comment

The Heatwave Chart - June 2010

Our top ten tunes this month. A little bias at number one perhaps but it's a big tune and it's been making crowds go mad at our sets recently so there we go!

1. The Heatwave & Serocee - War Dance
2. Dolamite - African Oil
3. Gyptian - Nah Let Go
4. Roska - Squark
5. Lady Chann - Ease Up (Fyah Wyah Riddim)
6. Mr Lexx & Congorock - Babylon
7. Kemikal - Hear Mi Nuh (Infantry Riddim)
8. Busy Signal - How Yuh Bad So
9. Leftside - Phat Punani
10. Skinny Fabulous - Charge Up (Hunny Bunny Riddim)

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Friday 25 June 2010 | 4 comments

The Heatwave Chart - April 2010

You a pree, dem a pree, she a pree, him a pree

Mr Lexx's infectiously repetitive and robotic vocal on Ward 21's Cosa Nostra riddim is still our biggest tune...no Heatwave set can end before this tune gets played!

Plus new tunes from Serocee, Lady Chann, Vybz Kartel and Collie Buddz alongside older favourites by Gyptian and Rihanna...

1. Mr Lexx - Dem A Pree (Cosa Nostra Riddim)
2. The Heatwave & Serocee - War Dance
3. Gyptian - Hold Yuh
4. Lady Chann - Ease Up (Fyah Wyah Riddim)
5. Vybz Kartel, Popcaan & Gaza Slim - Clarks
6. Rihanna & Assassin - Rude Boy (Remix)
7. Problem Child & DJ Naughty - Doh Run (Quicktime Riddim)
8. Collie Buddz - Come Down
9. Mavado - Gyal A Mad Ova (Bad People Riddim)
10. Assassin & I Wayne - Fire Song

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Wednesday 21 April 2010 | Add a comment

The Heatwave Chart - March 2010

Mr Lexx's amazing vocal on Ward 21's Cosa Nostra riddim is the biggest tune around right now.

But our top tracks from February hold on to the next two places. Plus huge new tunes from the likes of Lady Chann, Vybz Kartel, Serocee, Sean Paul and Tifa.

1. Mr Lexx - Dem A Pree (Cosa Nostra Riddim)
2. Gyptian - Hold Yuh
3. Busy Signal - Jafrican Ting / Bare Gal (Jafrican Riddim)
4. Lady Chann - Sticky Situation (Sticky Remix)
5. Vybz Kartel - Turn & Wine (DNA Riddim)
6. Rage - Outa Jail (Shell Dung Riddim)
7. Rihanna & Assassin - Rude Boy (Remix)
8. Serocee - Badeng
9. Sean Paul / Vybz Kartel - Fire Brigade / Oh Deh Gal (Gala Riddim)
10. Tifa - Rock Me So (Fyah Wyah Riddim)

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Monday 29 March 2010 | Add a comment

The Heatwave Chart - February 2010

Busy Signal is getting ridiculous this year. For the second month in a row we're forced to have a Busy double header at number one. And you know the Busy tunes must be MAD to keep Gyptian's Hold Yuh off the top spot...

1. Busy Signal - Bare Gal / Jafrican Ting (Jafrican Riddim)
2. Gyptian - Hold Yuh
3. Ms Dynamite & DJ Zinc - Wile Out
4. Rubi Dan - Swagga Jacking (Pon De Floor Riddim)
5. Beenie Man - Good Inna (Style & Swagga Riddim)
6. Natalie Storm & Footsteps - Play Di Ting (The Heatwave Refix)
7. Bugle - Don't Need Yuh Friendship (DNA Riddim)
8. Busy Signal - Food Fi The Pot (Duck Riddim)
9. Sizzla - Money We A Make (Shaolin Temple Riddim)
10. So Shifty feat Ward 21 & Natalie Storm - Clap

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Thursday 25 February 2010 | Add a comment

The Heatwave Chart - January 2010

Just like pretty much the whole of last year, January belongs to Busy Signal.

We can't decide which we like more out of Gal Need A Man and Good Good for the top spot, so we just lobbed in both of them. Busy's soca tune with Fay-Ann Lyons is on here too, at the expense of the also-excellent Wooeeii Gal Wooeeii with Machel Montano.

And there was no space at all for Bed or Smoke, which in any other month could well take the number one.

Elsewhere on here there are funky bashment vocals from Ms Dynamite and Face-T, soca from Mr Vegas and Machel Montano plus electro dancehall from Beenie Man.

1. Busy Signal - Gal Need A Man / Good Good
2. Face-T & Poirier - Enemies (Sticky Remix)
3. Mr Vegas - Fresh (AMA Riddim)
4. Ms Dynamite & DJ Zinc - Wile Out
5. Timberlee - Pretty Pretty (Kamera Trick Riddim)
6. Beenie Man - Swagga Mi Flow
7. Fay-Ann Lyons & Busy Signal - Start Wining
8. Mr G - Healthy Body (Zero Tolerance Riddim)
9. Machel Montano - Bumper To Fender
10. Mavado - Starlight

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Wednesday 27 January 2010 | 1 comment

The Heatwave Chart - December 2009

The top ten tunes that are reverberating around the Heatwave towers in the lead-up to the festive season.

Doubtless many these will be getting a run out at Hot Wuk tonight and our Christmas Carnival next Thursday.

1. Keida – Hot It Up
2. Mad Dog – Tek De Floor
3. Natalie Storm & Sticky – Look Pon Me (Jumeirah riddim)
4. Busy Signal – Nuh Fraid of Them (Forever riddim)
5. RDX - Deliver Me (Style & Swagga riddim)
6. Elephant Man – Rubba Bounce
7. Vybz Kartel & Shebba – Do Me Dat (England Town riddim)
8. Sean Paul & Hard House Banton – Temperature vs Sirens (The Heatwave Refix)
9. Mr Lexx – Watch Me Transform Ya
10. Alborosie – Blue Movie Boo

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Thursday 10 December 2009 | Add a comment

The Heatwave October Charts Part 2

How do you know if a tune is big? You personally can feel it. You might also be told about it. But you can't look at any dancehall charts and trust that the tunes are genuinely popular.

So to complement Gabriel's personal top ten for this month here's an insight into what's doing it for dancehall artists, producers, DJs, singers, promoters and bloggers in Jamaica, the US and the UK: people who create and spread dancehall and reggae music worldwide.

There are a lot of huge riddims coming out weekly - in case you missed them you'll see that the likes of Go Go Club and Set Mi Free are dominating the airwaves and dances in Jamaica.

These are matched by one-off singles such as Ding Dong's big hit Holiday from Notice Productions:

As it stands, everything seems too hot to single out - Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor (pictured below) told The Heatwave that he simply had "too many" favourites right now.

Have a look below and see what the likes of Ward 21 and Bounty Killer's manager have got to say.

Johnny Wonder (Music plugger)

• Demarco - True Friends
• G-Whizz - Life
• Mavado - House Cleaning (Set Mi Free Riddim)
• Chase Cross - Better Dayz (Clearance Riddim)
• Ding Dong - Holiday
• Bugle - Pearly Gates (Alter Ego Riddim)

Cecile (Artist - pictured below)

• Vybz Kartel - Slow Motion (Street Bullies Riddim)
• Mavado - Hope & Pray (Triple Bounce Riddim)

Max Glazer (New York DJ)

• Assassin - Hand Inna Di Air

Alaine (Singer)

• Ding Dong - Holiday

The Alliance (Bounty Killer's management)

• Mavado (pictured below) - House Cleaning (Set Mi Free Riddim)
• Bounty Killer - Chattabox (Vybz Kartel Diss)

Dancehall Mobi (Leading blog)

• Mavado - House Cleaning (Set Mi Free Riddim)
• Chino - Woman Pon your Head

Timberlee (Artist - pictured below)

• Merital & Vybz Kartel - My Money (Go Go Club Riddim)
• Ding Dong - Holiday

Fudgie Springer (Artist)

• Vybz Kartel - Nah Let Go

Ward 21 (Producers/artists - pictured below)

• Vybz Kartel - Love Dem (Set Mi Free Riddim)
• Assassin - Hand To Mouth (Set Mi Free Riddim)

Dylan Powe (Natalie Storm's manager)

• Vybz Kartel - Go Go Club

Prince Zimboo (Artist)

• Demarco - True Friends

YT (UK artist - pictured below)

• Mr Williamz - Be Yourself

Mr Lexx (Artist)

• Ding Dong - Holiday

Tony Kelly (Producer)

• Big Yard - Street Bullies riddim

Posted by Dan_Bean | Saturday 10 October 2009 | 1 comment

The Heatwave Chart - October 2009

After the popularity of the split dancehall/funky bashment charts that I did in July, I'm keeping the format this month. Assassin and Natalie Storm come out on top...

I've been very very busy recently - DJing, working on the XLR8R Funky Bashment podcast and finishing off a bunch of Heatwave productions - so I haven't found to do individual links to each of the tunes here, sorry.

But we featured pretty much all of these tunes on last week's Rinse FM show along with a Heatwave alternative take on the MOBO awards, so go and grab the mp3 if you want to hear this month's top twenty.

Dancehall

1. Assassin & Stephen McGregor- Hand Inna Di Air
2. Papa Levi & Curtis Lynch - Speed Rappin (Come Down Riddim)
3. Leftside & Syon - Nuh Other Gal (School Bell Riddim)
4. Busy Signal - Nuh Go Round Mi
5. Mr Vegas - Mix Up Peggie
6. Vybz Kartel & Dre Skull - Yuh Love
7. Alison Hinds - Rags Up (Street Bullies Riddim)
8. Assassin - Don't Give Loving (R6 Riddim)
9. Mavado - You A Mi Lover
10. Serani, Ding Dong, Razz & Biggy - Skip To Ma Luu

Funky bashment

1. Natalie Storm & Footsteps - Play Di Ting (The Heatwave Special - Worker Riddim)
2. Stush & Illmana - Ready Fi De War
3. Lady Chann & Warrior One - War (King Riddim)
4. Mirikal & El-B - We Don't Play
5. Maxwell D & Geeneus - Drunken Master (Crackish Riddim)
6. Mercurial Myrmidon - Hey Bongo
7. Footsteps - Dirty Rag
8. Lady Chann & Sticky - Lady Chann Run England (Jumeirah Riddim)
9. Ms Dynamite & Geeneus - Get Low (Crackish Riddim)
10. Brick & Lace - Love Is Wicked (Wideboys Afro Remix)

Posted by Gabriel_Heatwave | Thursday 08 October 2009 | 1 comment