Ini Kamoze

Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist who began his career in the early 1980s. Over the decades he built a reputation for a distinctive, rhythmically playful vocal style that blended toasting and singing, helping shape the sound of dancehall as it moved from its roots-reggae foundations toward faster, more digital rhythms.

Kamoze's catalogue includes «World-A-Music», a 1984 track whose hook later became globally famous when sampled for Damian Marley's 2005 hit «Welcome to Jamrock». Its opening line has also been sampled repeatedly across drum and bass and dubstep productions, underlining Kamoze's outsized influence on genres far beyond reggae's traditional audience. His best-known song internationally is «Here Comes the Hotstepper», whose 1993 dub version, «I'm Steppin' It Hotter This Year», became a dancehall anthem and crossover hit.

Other tracks such as «Hail Mi Idren», «Gunshot Respect Not» and «Wings With Me» reflect his range across roots-conscious material and dancefloor-oriented dancehall. Decades after his key releases, Kamoze remains a touchstone figure whose vocal hooks and rhythmic phrasing continue to echo through sampling and homage in contemporary music.