Deejay (Jamaican)

Toast, Chatting, or Deejaying is the act of talking or chanting over a rhythm or beat. It (toasting) originated in America and was transported to Jamaica. The lyrics can be either improvised or pre-written. Toasting has been used in various African traditions, such as griots chanting over a drum beat, Jamaican music forms, such as dancehall, reggae, ska, dub, and lovers rock. The combination of singing and toasting is known as singjaying.

Quotes

• "These kind of narrative poems are called toasts. They are rhyming stories, often lengthy, which are told mostly amongst men. Violent, scatalogical, obscene, misogynist, they have been used for decades to while away the time in situations of enforced boredom, whether prison, armed services or streetcorner life."
  • David Toop (1991). Rap Attack 2, 29. New York: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1852422432.