Usher Rides The Dancehall Wave

Usher rides the dancehall wave

Sunday, January 01, 2017

(From left) Dwayne “Supa Dups” Chin-Quee, Usher, and R City’s Timothy Thomas in the studio..

Usher is the latest pop star to ride a dancehall beat. He does so on Wait For It, produced by Jamaican Dwayne ‘Supa Dups’ Chin-Quee.

Wait For It is from The Hamilton Mixtape (Atlantic Records) which topped the Billboard 200 Album Chart in its opening week early this month.

The set moved 187,000 units and became the first compilation in two years to top that chart.

Chin-Quee explained how he got involved with the project.

“Riggs Morales, an A&R (Artist and Repertoire) at Atlantic Records contacted me about working on the song. Riggs and I have maintained a close working relationship ever since he got me involved in two albums from Eminem,” Chin-Quee shared.

Wait For It is from Act 1 of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, based on the life of American statesman Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics to the song, which was originally performed by Leslie Odom Jr for the cast album.

The Hamilton Mixtape features songs from Hamilton performed by artistes such as Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, The Roots, John Legend, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Wiz Khalifa, Chance The Rapper, Jill Scott, Sia, and Queen Latifah.

“The original version of Wait For It that was featured in the Broadway production had a dancehall feel to it. Riggs decided to let me redo it. I made it where it still fit in with the original, but I did my own thing to it, which is a mixture of R&B and undertones of dancehall,” said Chin Quee.

Based in Florida, Chin-Quee has also worked with Drake, Bruno Mars, John Legend, Partynextdoor, and Nina Sky.

Since last year, major acts, most notably Rihanna and Drake, have fused dancehall with their pop and rap sounds. The former’s Work was one of 2016’s biggest hits.