Ziggy Marley Presents: Dancehall Originators Vol 1.

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Tuff Gong Worldwide) - Multiple Grammy winning artist Ziggy Marley, and Tuff Gong Worldwide present "Dancehall Originators Vol 1," the first in a new series of dancehall reggae albums designed to pay homage to the groundbreaking original artists that paved the way for dancehall artists today. The album, which will be released on February 2nd, features tracks by Chaka Demus, Yellow Man and Buju Banton, among others (track list below).

In 1992, producer/songwriter Phillip Smart, founder of Long Island's HC&F Studios, created the scorching "Hot This Year" riddim, whose bouncy keyboard riffs and resounding bass were considered groundbreaking at the time.

From its initial release, "Hot This Year" inspired numerous other artists, including Shaggy, Yellow Man, Buju Banton, and Chaka Demus, to use it as a basis for their own songs. It also inspired the durable and popular song "Hot This Year" by the late DJ Dirtsman, which crossed over into other radio formats.

"There weren't that many reggae records that crossed over to R&B radio at the time, and Dirtsman's song went from reggae radio shows to getting airplay in regular rotation on New York stations," recalls Phillip Smart. "So that put it in a different format and the song became a favorite in clubs that didn't play a lot of reggae."

Because it so deftly illustrates such an important era of dancehall reggae history, Dancehall Originators is a must-have for any knowledgeable dancehall devotee, as well as more recent reggae converts.

The Tuff Gong label was founded in 1965 by Bob Marley, with the vision of producing, distributing and promoting his music free from the constraints of corporate label politics. Decades before artist-owned record labels were commonplace, the legendary Bob Marley's vision was characteristically well ahead of its time. Now, nearly a half-century later, his dream is being realized.

Track list:
HOT THIS YEAR BY DIRTSMAN
BIG, BAD & BOLD BY CHAKA DEMUS
TAKE IT EASY BY PETER METRO FEATURING TANTO METRO
SO SWEET BY PINCHERS
LOOK WORK BY JOSEY WALES
ROUGHER THAN DEM BY CHARLIE CHAPLIN
KING FE DANCEHALL BY YELLOW MAN
STOP IT BY COCO TEA
DANCEHALL VIBES BY GENERAL TREES
MR. BAD MIND BY BUJU BANTON
THE ORIGINATOR BY U-ROY & GEORGE NOOKS
TAKING YOU BACK MEGA MIX - MIXED BY DJ ROY OF ROAD INTERNATIONAL