Taïro Essentials

French singer, songwriter, and dancehall wizard Taïro was born Ismaël Jolé-Menébhi, but the moniker matched his music: tight, catchy, and packing a punch. Since he began dropping reggae-touched fire-starters in the mid ‘00s, Taïro has deftly tied dynamic, playful beats to his passionate, malleable vocals to create a style that crosses genre boundaries effortlessly. The Parisian is convincing whether rhyming about going wild (“Bonne w**d”) or the sacrifices of his mother (“Mama”). Taïro's sound was crystallised on 2016's Reggae Français, his fun, ambitious third album.