Dancehall is a type of
reggae which developed in the early
1980s. The style is characterized by a "DJ" singing and rapping or "toasting" over raw and dancable reggae music (riddims). Many of the lyrics in the early dancehall were crude and "slack", though in the late
1990s, this changed as many artists converted to
Rastafarianism and changed their lyrical focus. Various varieties of dancehall achieved some crossover success outside of Jamaica during the mid- to late-
1990s.