Afro Dancehall Songs: Best Afrobeats x Dancehall Fusions

Afro dancehall is the meeting point of West African pop and Jamaican dancehall: Afrobeats and highlife melodies and percussion blended with dancehall riddims, patois hooks and deejay verses. Essential afro dancehall songs include Stonebwoy and Sean Paul’s “Most Original”, Beyoncé, Shatta Wale and Major Lazer’s “Already” and the “Shake It To The Max (Fly)” remix with Shenseea and Skillibeng.

Here are 15 fusions from 2014 to 2025, from the African artists who built the lane to the Jamaican stars now crossing into it. Every credit and year was checked against official releases and music press.

What this sound is

A two-way street: Ghanaian and Nigerian artists such as Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale, Patoranking and Timaya have built careers mixing reggae and dancehall into African pop, while Jamaican deejays now turn up on Afrobeats albums.
Rhythm: the rolling percussion and melodic grooves of Afrobeats, and sometimes amapiano, meet the bounce and syncopation of a dancehall riddim.
Vocals: sung, melodic hooks from the African side and patois verses from the Jamaican side, often on the same record.
Mood: warm, romantic and made for dancing, far lighter than trap dancehall.
The UK cousin: Afroswing, also called Afrobashment, developed in the UK in the mid-2010s and is built on the same dancehall and Afrobeats blend, with UK rap on top.

The foundations (2014–2019)

1. Sanko – Timaya (2014)

Timaya is known for fusing Nigerian pop with dancehall, and this single from his album Epiphany shows the formula at full strength. A 2015 remix added Trinidad’s Destra, stretching the song across the Caribbean too.

2. Girlie O (Remix) – Patoranking feat. Tiwa Savage (2014)

The song that made Lagos-raised Patoranking’s name, remixed with Tiwa Savage. He mixes reggae and dancehall into Nigerian pop, and in 2015 he signed a distribution deal with the reggae and dancehall label VP Records.

3. One Dance – Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla (2016)

The song that took the blend global. Co-written with Wizkid and built on a sample of Kyla’s UK funky track “Do You Mind”, it is a dancehall and Afrobeats record that went to No. 1 in 15 countries.

4. Did You See – J Hus (2017)

J Hus and producer Jae5 are credited with shaping Afroswing, the UK’s own mix of Afrobeats and dancehall. This was his first UK top 10 hit and went platinum.

5. Can’t Believe – Kranium feat. Ty Dolla $ign & WizKid (2017)

Released in May 2017, this Kranium single blended Afrobeats and dancehall with a Jamaican singer, an American R&B star and a Nigerian pop star on one track, well ahead of the current wave of link-ups.

6. Most Original – Stonebwoy feat. Sean Paul (2018)

Stonebwoy, often described as Africa’s king of reggae and dancehall, teamed up with a Jamaican icon. The FADER reported that the beat came from Black Diamond, a Ghanaian producer based in Belgium, that Stonebwoy first contacted Sean Paul on Instagram, and that the video was shot in Jamaica.

7. Already – Beyoncé, Shatta Wale & Major Lazer (2019)

From The Lion King: The Gift, this dancehall and Afropop track put Ghanaian dancehall star Shatta Wale alongside Beyoncé and later featured in the film Black Is King.

8. Risky – Davido feat. Popcaan (2019)

Produced by Speroach Beatz for Davido’s album A Good Time, it pairs his Afrofusion with Popcaan’s melodic deejaying over what OkayAfrica called an Afrofusion-meets-dancehall beat.

The new wave (2022–2025)

9. Toni-Ann Singh – Burna Boy feat. Popcaan (2022)

A tribute to the 2019 Miss World from Burna Boy’s Love, Damini, produced by Jamaicans Anju Blaxx and Cobe. DancehallMag reported in January 2026 that it had gone Gold in Canada.

10. Slip N Slide – Wizkid feat. Skillibeng & Shenseea (2022)

Wizkid’s P2J-produced album cut from More Love, Less Ego gave Skillibeng his first Afrobeats outing, and it debuted at No. 19 on Billboard’s U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.

11. Worth My While – Manny Norté feat. Stalk Ashley, Tiana Major9 & Ayra Starr (2022)

Released on 31 August 2022, Manny Norté’s all-female follow-up to his earlier single “4AM” puts a Jamaican singer, a British R&B voice and a Nigerian Afropop star on one relaxed, melodic record. More on the Worth My While collaboration. If you like this, try “Can’t Believe”, another three-country link-up.

12. Jump – Tyla, Gunna & Skillibeng (2024)

A fusion of Afrobeats, dancehall and hip-hop from Tyla’s debut album, with throbbing bass and amapiano percussion under Skillibeng’s patois verse.

13. Shake It To The Max (Fly) (Remix) – Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea (2025)

The original, by Ghanaian singer Moliy and Jamaican producer Silent Addy, arrived in December 2024. The February 2025 remix with Shenseea and Skillibeng reached No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went Gold in the US, according to DancehallMag.

14. R&B – Davido feat. Shenseea & 450 (2025)

From Davido’s album 5ive. 450 told The Star that Davido reached out to him, calling it his first collaboration at that level. 450 later paired with Stalk Ashley on “Good Ole”.

15. HEAT – KJ Spio, KiDi & Stalk Ashley (2025)

Released on 22 August 2025 and produced by Crumz, “HEAT” teams UK-based music executive KJ Spio with Ghana Music Awards Artist of the Year KiDi and Stalk Ashley. MyJoyOnline described it as a blend of classic Ghanaian highlife and R&B. See the HEAT collaboration page. If you like this, try “Shake It To The Max” for another Ghana-to-Jamaica connection.

Where Stalk Ashley fits

Stalk Ashley’s Dancehall&B style sits naturally beside Afrobeats. Her link to the scene goes back to 2019, when she joined Stormzy on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge for a cover of Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl”, the Wizkid-assisted song from the same Lion King album as “Already”. See the Stormzy collaboration. “Worth My While” and “HEAT” carry that Afro-Caribbean thread forward.

Build the playlist

Start with “Sanko” and “Girlie O”, peak with “One Dance” and “Shake It To The Max”, and cool down with “Worth My While” and “HEAT”. Stalk Ashley’s songs are on her Spotify artist page, and her full catalogue is on our music page. For a darker sound, try our trap dancehall and drill playlist, or go softer with the R&B dancehall songs.

Frequently asked questions

What is afro dancehall?

Afro dancehall blends West African pop styles such as Afrobeats and highlife with Jamaican dancehall riddims, patois hooks and deejay verses. It is popular in Ghana and Nigeria and increasingly in Jamaica and the UK.

Who are the best-known afro dancehall artists?

Ghana’s Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale and Nigeria’s Patoranking and Timaya are among the artists best known for mixing dancehall into African pop. Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido have all recorded with Jamaican dancehall stars.

Is One Dance a dancehall song?

Yes. Drake’s “One Dance” (2016), featuring Wizkid and Kyla, is widely described as a dancehall and Afrobeats song, and it reached No. 1 in 15 countries.

What is the difference between Afroswing and afro dancehall?

Afroswing, or Afrobashment, is a UK genre from the mid-2010s that mixes Afrobeats and dancehall with British rap. Afro dancehall is the broader blend of African pop and Jamaican dancehall, led by artists in West Africa and the Caribbean.

Which Stalk Ashley songs are afro dancehall?

Her closest Afrobeats-leaning records are “HEAT” with KJ Spio and KiDi (2025) and Manny Norté’s “Worth My While” with Tiana Major9 and Ayra Starr (2022). In 2019 she also sang on Stormzy’s Live Lounge cover of Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl”.

Afro Dancehall Songs: 15 Afrobeats and Dancehall Fusions