Dancehall originated in the late 1970s as a subgenre of reggae that involved the use of digital instrumentation from sound systems (groups of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing ska, rocksteady or reggae music), along with artists singing or deejaying in heavy Jamaican patois (versus the standard Queen’s English). Dancehall has been likened to rap in the ways that a deejay will hop on an instrumental known as a “riddim” and freestyle.
Great perspective!