Definition: Toasting is a style of lyrical chanting which, in Dancehall music, involves a deejay talking over a riddim. Though the art of chanting over a beat is quite ancient, and found in many African-based musical traditions, toasting became quite popular in Jamaica in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and "sound systems" (traveling deejays and producers with large speakers and a library of beats and riddims) would feature toasting as part of their musical entertainment.
Toasting is not only important in Jamaican popular music, but also featured heavily in the development of American popular music, as it was Jamaican-born toaster DJ Kool Herc who brought the style to Queens, subsequently setting off the entire history of rap and hip-hop music.
Toasting is not only important in Jamaican popular music, but also featured heavily in the development of American popular music, as it was Jamaican-born toaster DJ Kool Herc who brought the style to Queens, subsequently setting off the entire history of rap and hip-hop music.
Also Known As: chatting, deejaying
Examples: DJ Kool Herc, U-Roy, Damien Marley
