Toasting (Jamaican music)

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Deejay (alternatively spelled DJ) is a term in Jamaican music for a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and "toasts" to an increase to rap and music

Deejays are not to be confused with DJs from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors. Deejays whose style is nearer to singing are sometimes called singjays.

The term deejay came about as a result of the act of some selectors (as they were called) of the 1960s and 1970s such as U-Roy or King Stitt toasting to the version side of popular records of the time. The version came about when the record company produced the 45 record with an instrumental version of the song on the flip side. This gave the deejays the chance to make up on-the-fly lyrics to the instrumental music. This occurrence gave rise to deejay toasting and the term has been used in that context ever since.

Toasting, chatting (rap in other parts of the Anglo Caribbean), or deejaying is the act of talking or chanting, usually in a monotone melody, over a rhythm or beat by a deejay. Traditionally, the method of toasting originated from the griots of Caribbean calypso and mento traditions. The lyrics can either be improvised or pre-written.

Toasting has been used in various African traditions, such as griots chanting over a drum beat, as well as in the United States and Jamaican music forms, such as ska, reggae, dancehall, and dub; it also exists in Grime and Hip Hop coming out of the United Kingdom, which typically has a lot of Caribbean influence. Toasting is also often used in soca and bouyon music. The African American oral tradition of toasting, a mix of talking and chanting, influenced the development of MCing in US hip hop music. The combination of singing and toasting is known as singjaying.

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