Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as Ragga, is a sub-genre of Dancehall music and/or Reggae, in which the instrumentation primarily consists of electronic music. Similar to Hip Hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in Raggamuffin music.
In the mid-1980s, French Antilles Kassav, the first in the Caribbean to use MIDI technology, took Caribbean music to another level by recording in a digital format. Wayne Smith's "Under Me Sleng Teng" was produced by King Jammy in 1985 on a Casio MT-40 synthesizer and is generally recognized as the seminal Ragga song. "Sleng Teng" boosted Jammy's popularity immensely, and other producers quickly released their own versions of the riddim, accompanied by dozens of different vocalists.
Ragga is now mainly used as a synonym for Dancehall-Reggae or for describing Dancehall with a deejay chatting rather than singjaying or singing on top of the riddim. This kind of music learnt its traits from the genres before it but it has also left its mark on other genres providing great influence.
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