Toasting, chatting, or DJing is the act of talking or chanting over a rhythm or beat.

Traditional African American toasting

Toasting has been part of African American urban tradition since Reconstruction as part of a verbal art tradition, dating back to the griots of Africa, which lauds the exploits of the clever and not entirely law-abiding trickster hero (not always human) who uses his wits to easily defeat his opponents. They serve the purpose of the oral tradition by introducing the public to the legends and myths of the community. They are performed in bars, libraries, community centers , and even college campuses , or by anyone as entertainment at a social function or just impromptu gathering on a street corner. As with oral traditions in general, and with such other African American art forms as the blues, both repetition and improvisation are great parts of the art of toasting. Thus there are many versions of the most well known toasts, often conflicting in detail, since historical accuracy is secondary to enjoyability. Historically, the toast is very male oriented, and thus many versions contain profane and/or sexual language and concepts which can be considered offensive to women, children, devout churchgoers, other races, and so on; however 'cleaner' versions were also performed for these audiences.

Well known toasts include "Shine and the Titanic", "Dolemite", "Stack O Lee", and "Signifyin' Monkey". Toasters currently performing include Christopher Wilkinson and Arthur Pfister , both of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jamaican toasting

This was initially developed in Jamaica during the 1960s. MCs from sound systems employed the technique to further enhance their dub plates. As time progressed the MCs would become more creative in their chants, eventually overshadowing the tunes they were initially supposed to enhance. This led to the earliest forms of what is now known as dancehall in Jamaica.

See also

• Voice instrumental music
• Scat singing
• onomatopoeia
• A cappella
• Doo-wop
• Vocalese
• Beatbox

For other meanings see Toast (disambiguation)