Def Jamaica

Initial pressings included a bonus DVD.
Includes liner notes by Scott Hunter Smith.
This compilation highlights a musical form that has been a shot in the arm for the ailing U.S. hip-hop collective. Beset by warmed-over gangsta-style imagery and threadbare production values, the industry came up with a winning formula in the combination of hip-hop and Jamaican dancehall, a perky amalgam of bossa-nova beats, reggae, and old-school toasting that had been popular almost everywhere but the U.S. since the mid-1980s.
DEF JAMAICA features established American artists such as Cam'ron, Shawnna, and Juelz Santana on infectious cuts spiced up with insistent ubiquitous dancehall beats. On the triumphant (and wildly popular) "Dude," Ms. Thing gets sultry in Indian style with Shawnna, assisted by the broader-than-Broadway vocal stylings of Beenie Man. Nokio puts recent U.S. gangsta rap efforts to shame with the crisp production style and rhythmic smarts of "Murda," while the Ghostface Killah/Elephant Man collaboration, "Girls Callin'," shows that gangsta rappers and dancehall toasters can play together quite nicely, thank you. With musical influences ranging from R&B to Indian pop, DEF JAMAICA combines the energy of Jamaican pop with sophisticated American production techniques in an irresistible mix.