The VP label's annual roundup of reggae hits remains ambitious on this 2013 edition, kicking off with two numbers that have as much to do with club music as they do reggae. Former
Dogg Snoop Lion ("Lighters Up") and former
Diplo Major Lazer ("Jah No Partial") represent what happens when dancehall goes electro (or really, vice versa), but then it's off to reggae's island home with recent hits from
Morgan Heritage,
Gyptian, and
Konshens coming straight out of Jamaica. Lovers rock and furious dancehall are represented equally, while the deep and killer "One Shot" from
Angela Hunte proves there's still a need for dank, dark roots reggae. A bonus disc features a slew of massively influential prime material, but going from the old-school ska of
Desmond Dekker to the dancehall slack of
Yellowman is a huge leap, and without any attempt to sensibly join these cuts, the bonus disc is best listened to as a simple label sampler.
