Dancehall remains a sticky wicket. The medium revels in its ability to reshape old music and churn out something new, frequently on the spot, something akin to freestyling. While that approach to music making sometimes results in a spate of songs as unimaginative as anything currently on the radio, there’re a number of singers, sing-jays or deejays that were consistently able to turn in good work. Toyan’s one of those guys, but having Henry ‘Junjo’ Laws along on his Every Posse Want Me disc didn’t hurt matters much.

The funny thing, though, is the title track’s a reimagined version of “Balling for Love.” The song’s chorus isn’t at all changed with Toyan croaking out some notes that resemble the assumed melody. And while the verses occasionally touch on relationships – women, apparently, want him on the dance floor – most of what’s going on here is boasting in a pretty traditional manner. Dancehall was ever criticized for it’s literary writing style.

Anyway, with all that figured, Toyan and Laws don’t turn in anything that approaches a surprise. While that might come off as a criticism, and I guess it should, the genre doesn’t beg for anything new. It’s based on recycling. While there are some folks better suited to appropriating source material to craft something wholly new, Toyan can still chant over just about any sort of musical backing. He’s never set to get political in a genuine way and doesn’t really care too much about traditional relationships, but the deejay certainly has a unique cadence. Boss sounds.