Words by Eddie STATS Houghton, as determined by the LARGE UP crew
Our reg’lar Friday Toppa Top 10 this week also happens to be our tenth and final Top 10 looking back over 2010 and the whole 2000s decade. After this 2011 can officially begin with our blessing…but we don’t recommend you jump the gun because we sounded the biggest thing last; the Top 10 Caribbean anthems of the entire decade. We consulted Billboard charts and soundscans, analyzed trends and recounted the essential, groundbreaking moments of island culture. We looked at every scene, taking into account reggae and reggaeton, merengue and merengue de calle, ragga soca and actual soca. And then in time-honored editorial fashion we had a heated argument which quickly devolved into a flame war/soundclash, fought by hurling youTube clips of kung fu flicks, classic picong face-offs and drunken foul-mouthed puppets back and forth over such essential questions as: “Iwer George vs. Bunji Garlin: go!” and “Lumidee is only #7…?!?” and the age-old puzzler “Scunt! Whate the hell this?!” In the end, that’s why we can be sure that the jams that withstood this trial by virtual fire are officially official. This is not no opinion thing. These 10 tunes are actually, factually the best of the best.