What is considered the first early dancehall track

September 26, 2025 by Dahrk Vision in Early Dancehall

Uncover the origins of early dancehall music and the debate around what counts as the “first” track in the genre. This in-depth analysis explores Kingston’s late 1970s sound-system culture, key producers, pioneering artists, and the transition from roots reggae to dancehall.

Introduction

Every Jamaican genre emerges from the crossroads of social history, street culture, and sonic innovation. Ska burst from the optimism of independence in the 1960s, rocksteady followed with a smoother pulse, and reggae grew as a vessel of Rastafarian consciousness. By the late 1970s, however, Jamaica’s streets were restless, its dance halls booming, and its youth searching for a sound that resonated with their lived realities. Out of this ferment came dancehall, a genre that would redefine Jamaican music for decades to come.

But with every musical birth comes a question of origins. What should be considered the first early dancehall track? Was it a specific deejay’s toast on a stripped-down riddim? A Barrington Levy cut produced by Henry “Junjo” Lawes? Or does the title belong to Wayne Smith’s Under Mi Sleng Teng (1985), the track that ushered in digital dancehall?

The answer is far from simple. This article traces the genealogy of early dancehall, examining the late 1970s and early 1980s Kingston scene to understand why no single “first track” exists, and why the genre itself is the result of overlapping cultural and sonic shifts.

From Riddim to Record: The Origins of Dancehall on Wax

The debate over the “first” early dancehall track is really a debate about definition. Dancehall was not born fully formed with one song, but gradually emerged in the late 1970s through sound-system culture and studio recordings that reflected what was already happening live.

Some scholars credit Barrington Levy’s recordings for Junjo Lawes (circa 1979–1980) with codifying the sound (Hope, 2006). Tracks like Collie Weed and Bounty Hunter captured the stripped-down riddim style and heavy bass that defined dancehall.
Others emphasize General Echo, whose witty and often risqué toasts on the microphone brought “slackness” into recorded form, marking a break from the cultural seriousness of roots reggae (Cooper, 2004).
A more mainstream view highlights Wayne Smith’s Under Mi Sleng Teng (1985) as the pivotal first track — but this is misleading, as Sleng Teng launched digital dancehall, not the analog era that preceded it (Stolzoff, 2000).

Therefore, the “first” early dancehall track is best understood not as a single song but as a cluster of recordings that reflected Kingston’s shifting cultural atmosphere between 1978 and 1981.

The Social Context of Early Dancehall

Kingston in Transition

The 1970s were a period of intense political violence and economic decline in Jamaica. Youth from Kingston’s working-class communities gathered around sound systems as both entertainment and survival. Unlike roots reggae, which often looked outward to the international market with messages of unity and Rastafari, dancehall became hyper-local, focused on the dance itself and the immediate realities of Jamaican life (Hope, 2006).

Sound Systems as Incubators

Dancehall takes its name directly from dance halls — the physical venues where music was played. The sound system was the incubator: selectors played dub versions of popular songs, and deejays toasted over the instrumentals. This live practice began shaping a distinct aesthetic long before it appeared on records.

From Roots to Riddim

Roots reggae emphasized the song: verses, choruses, harmonies. Dancehall shifted the focus to the riddim — the instrumental backbone that could be endlessly versioned. This modular approach enabled new creativity and constant reinvention.

Barrington Levy and Junjo Lawes

Barrington Levy, still a teenager in 1979, became one of the first major recording artists of dancehall. Working with producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes and backed by the Roots Radics band, Levy’s tracks like Collie Weed and Bounty Hunter set the tone for what early dancehall would sound like (Manuel & Marshall, 2006).

Production Style: Junjo emphasized heavy drum and bass, leaving space for Levy’s melodic but streetwise vocals.
Roots Radics Influence: The band’s minimalist playing reflected the influence of dub, with space, echo, and stripped-down instrumentation.
Cultural Shift: Levy’s lyrics, while not overtly political, spoke directly to the lived experiences of Jamaican youth, marking a break from Rastafarian-heavy reggae.

Many historians argue that Levy + Junjo + Roots Radics = the first crystallization of recorded dancehall.

General Echo and the Rise of Slackness

Another contender for the title of “first” is General Echo, whose deejay style was filled with humor, sexual innuendo, and everyday storytelling. Echo’s 1979 album 12 Inches of Pleasure is often cited as the first recorded articulation of slackness in Jamaican music (Cooper, 2004).

Why It Matters: Echo brought the live deejay aesthetic directly onto records, bridging the gap between sound-system practice and studio production.
Slackness as Identity: His lyrics resonated with working-class audiences, shifting Jamaican music toward personal, risqué, and humorous content rather than universal spiritual messages.
Legacy: Though Echo was killed in 1980, his approach laid the groundwork for artists like Yellowman and Josey Wales, who dominated the 1980s.

The Dub Engineers

Behind the scenes were the engineers who made dancehall sonically possible. King Tubby, Scientist, and Prince/King Jammy took the tools of dub — reverb, echo, delay — and sculpted the riddims that defined the early era (Veal, 2007).

Tubby: Created stripped-down versions for deejays, essentially inventing the practice of the riddim as a stand-alone track.
Scientist: Known for his “spacey” mixes with the Roots Radics, especially in the early 1980s Volcano productions.
Jammy: Would later introduce digital sound with Sleng Teng, but in the early 1980s he was already experimenting with sparse analog productions.

Without dub engineers, there would have been no riddim culture, and therefore no dancehall.

The Sleng Teng Debate

When discussing the “first dancehall track,” Under Mi Sleng Teng inevitably enters the conversation. Released in 1985, produced by King Jammy, and voiced by Wayne Smith, it was the first fully computerized riddim in Jamaican music (Bradley, 2000).

Impact: Sleng Teng is often mistakenly labeled as the first dancehall song. In reality, it marks the birth of digital dancehall (ragga), a new era that followed the early analog phase.
Why the Confusion: Because Sleng Teng was so revolutionary and commercially successful, it overshadowed the earlier analog recordings.
Clarification: If the question is “first dancehall track ever,” the answer lies in the late 1970s. If it is “first digital dancehall track,” then Sleng Teng takes the crown.

Why There’s No Single “First Track”

Dancehall as a Practice Before a Genre

Unlike reggae, which had clearer birth markers (Toots Hibbert’s Do the Reggay), dancehall emerged gradually from live performance practice. By the time recordings reflected it, the sound was already established.

Multiple Candidates, Different Criteria

Barrington Levy/Junjo: First analog recordings to solidify the sound.
General Echo: First to bring slackness into recorded form.
Sleng Teng: First digital track.

Each is “first” in a different sense.

Importance of Community Consensus

For many Jamaicans, the “first” is less important than the energy of the dance hall itself. Dancehall is a communal practice, and its authenticity lies in live interaction, not in pinpointing a single record.

Conclusion

So what is considered the first early dancehall track? The truth is that no single record can hold that title. Dancehall was born in Kingston’s sound systems, nurtured by deejays like General Echo, voiced by singers like Barrington Levy, and shaped by producers and engineers like Junjo Lawes, Scientist, and King Tubby. By 1979–1981, early dancehall had crystallized as a distinct genre, even if its official “first” remains contested.

If one must choose:

Barrington Levy and Junjo Lawes gave the first fully recognizable recordings.
General Echo injected slackness and humor.
Sleng Teng (1985) inaugurated the digital age.

Each is a foundational milestone, and together they chart the path from reggae’s roots to dancehall’s rise.

References

Bradley, L. (2000). This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica’s Music. Grove Press.
Cooper, C. (2004). Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hope, D. P. (2006). Inna di Dancehall: Popular Culture and the Politics of Identity in Jamaica. University of the West Indies Press.
Katz, D. (2012). Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae. Jawbone Press.
Manuel, P., & Marshall, W. (2006). The riddim method: Aesthetics, practice, and ownership in Jamaican dancehall. Popular Music, 25(3), 447–470.
Stolzoff, N. C. (2000). Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. Duke University Press.
Veal, M. (2007). Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Wesleyan University Press.