Dancehall’s new cool ruler, Busy Signal, breaks down his influences in the latest edition of Headphone Highlights on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.

There is not a shadow of doubt, that the year in dancehall was Busy Signal’s. Still in his early twenties, his razor-sharp sensibility for blending cheeky mischief with relentless social commentary, combined with an unparalleled lyrical flexibility and sense for catchy harmonies, had him churn out countless hit tunes from bloodthirsty gunman tunes like Loaded, to proud combinations with the likes of Mykal Rose and Marcia Griffiths, to the wonky Jamaican hip hop madness of Tic Toc, to his recent rerub of Dave Kelly's dubplate standard Showtime, All About My Money.

Initially introduced to the massives by being given the royal stamp of approval by mighty Bounty Killer, Busy has since then evolved from being just another talented Alliance soulja at Di 5 Star General’s command to holding his own as one of the island’s true standout artists, exhibiting growth with every 7” single and neatly oscillating between global messages and a raw Tivoli Gardens flavour. This artful ambivalence is also evident in his HH selection, where he plays everything from deeply spiritual Bob Marley to digitalized '80s slackness and Mavado's unapologetic ghetto gospel, to his own Daseca-produced breakthrough anthem These Are The Days, off of his debut album on VP. One busy next generation signal indeed!

Headphone Highlights - Busy Signal (VP Records, Kingston)