Wayne Wonder — "No Letting Go"
Jamaican lovers-rock over the handclap-driven Diwali Riddim—the sound of spring 2003 radio. Wayne Wonder's sweet R&B float became the riddim's most perfect vessel.
The Diwali Riddim, crafted by producer Steven "Lenky" Marsden, powered dancehall's biggest US crossover moment in 2003. Wayne Wonder, a Jamaican singer with a silk-smooth lovers-rock delivery, glided over the riddim's insistent handclap pulse and released "No Letting Go" on January 21, 2003, as the lead single from his album "No Holding Back." It climbed to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart. For those months in 2003, that handclap pattern became the sound of the radio itself, inescapable and perfect. It remains the song that summons the whole feeling of spring 2003 for anyone who had a radio on.
Similar items
Shaggy — It Wasn't Me
The get-caught-and-just-deny-everything anthem of 2000 — Shaggy and RikRok trading a call-and-response about brazenly denying an affair. An accidental single that became a number-one smash on both sides of the Atlantic and a karaoke staple forever after.
Nelly — "Ride wit Me"
"If you wanna go and take a ride wit me..." — HEY, MUST BE THE MONEY! Nelly's acoustic-guitar bounce was the sound of every radio, mall, and school bus in 2001, the laid-back victory lap off Country Grammar.
Ini Kamoze — "Here Comes the Hotstepper"
The "na na na na naaa" that took over the world in 1994. Jamaican veteran Ini Kamoze's one perfect strike—a four-sample collage that hit #1 and never let go, even after he faded back.
"Shy Guy" — Diana King
The dancehall-pop single from the Bad Boys soundtrack that made Jamaica's Diana King a global name in the spring of 1995: number 13 in America, number two in Britain, number one across Europe.