Dancehall, reggae predicted for Grand Theft Auto airplay

It's not strange to see a vehicle speeding down the street with dancehall or reggae music blaring in Jamaica, but in the virtual world of video games that maybe unusual, to say the least.

As the September 17 release date announced by Rockstar Games for Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V nears, reggae/dancehall is again expected to have a healthy presence in the series.

According to Rockstar Games, makers of the hugely popular series, GTA V is destined to be their biggest open world game to date, and as one can imagine, one of the important factors of a movie or video game is it's soundtrack.

Popular gaming website IGN (International Gaming Network) has issued predictions of the GTA V soundtrack, and reggae and it's dancehall offspring are right in the mix.

"A reggae station has featured in nearly every single GTA game, and I don't see that changing now. This station will probably play more than the expected reggae though, but also dub music, dancehall and Caribbean dubstep. No clue who the DJ might be, but I am certain this station will exist," reads the prediction.

Past stations in the GTA series include, Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, Tuff Gong Radio and RamJam FM.
Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, hosted by Bobby Konders, was the place for the dancehall genre.

Featured Artistes

Among the artistes featured there include Burro Banton, Mavado, Richie Spice, Chuck Fenda, Spragga Benz, Bounty Killer, Shaggy and Buju Banton.

Tuff Gong Radio hosted by Carl Bradshaw was heavy in reggae/dub. With the exception of Stephen and Damian Marley, only Bob Marley & the Wailers was featured.

RamJam FM was hosted by David Rodigan and specialised in reggae, dub and dancehall with a host of artistes on that roster.

Dancehall and reggae has been featured in video games in previous years.

Lady Saw, Beenie Man, Sean Paul and Mr Vegas were featured on Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Rocks, which was a popular racing game.

Sean Paul was portrayed as a character in the Def Jam series. The Like Glue deejay and Elephant Man were also a part of the soundtrack.

Beenie Man's King of The Dancehall was featured on Dance Central, and more recently, Bob Marley, Mr Vegas and Sean Paul were featured on the Zumba Fitness Core video game.

(from Jamaica Gleaner)