Skatta upbeat as Coolie Dance rhythm takes flight, again

THE success of the Coolie dance rhythm sampled hit Bby WOW by Karol G, featuring Judeline and rusowsky, has once again propelled the enigmatic Cordell “Skatta” Burrell-produced beat into the spotlight. Bby WOW is the biggest song globally at present, topping both Billboard’s Global 200 and Global 200 Excluding US charts. It is also #1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs, and Hot Latin Rhythm Songs charts. Outside of the United States, the song has so far hit #1 in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru and in Spain. Created in early 2004, the initial Coolie Dance rhythm featured more than 70 songs.

Among the hits at the time were songs by dancehall acts Guinness by Jagwa, Yuh Gaawn by Bounty Killer, Geenie Dance by Elephant Man, Head Gaawn by Elephant Man, Do it To Me Baby by Ce’Cile, Gal Dem Way by TOK, Tell Me Why by Frisco Kid, Please Mr Please by Vybz Kartel and Feel Alright by Sean Paul. Mr Vegas’ Pull Up and Jook Gal (Wine Wine) by Elephant Man, Kiprich, Twista and YoungBloodz were Billboard chart-hitters, so too Culo by Pitbull and Nina Sky’s Move Your Body , both of which hit the Billboard Hot 100 charts in late 2004, and most recently After Hours by R&B singer Kehlani. In an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Thursday, Burrell who is also a former judge on the television reality series Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall , spoke about the renewed interest in the beat which he created 22 years ago. “I’m always happy whenever a new interest comes to fruition and a great song is released with the sample,” said Burrell. “It reminds me that the riddim is timeless and has the ability to connect with generations of music lovers. I think the continued interest from international acts in sampling the rhythm has a lot to do with the original…