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While we wouldn’t want to suggest that music has become more disposable in the digital age (although there are plenty of others out there who regularly do so), it’s interesting to note that there have been 31 number one singles in the UK so far this year. No single has managed to stay at the top for more than a week since September, while even Pharrell’s magic touch on the year’s indisputably biggest tracks by Daft Punk and Robin Thicke could only keep them on top of the pack for four weeks apiece.

In contrast, if you look back at the number ones of the ’90s, most years barely see half that amount of chart-toppers. Which in some ways is a good thing – no one wants a return to endless weeks of Bryan Adams, Meatloaf and Wet Wet Wet at number one. Yet there was something more common in the ’90s charts that is only recently starting to see a revival – the proliferation of reggae. When I was a kid, pop-reggae singles from Beats International, Shaggy, Ace of Base, UB40 and Pato Banton all nestled at the top of the charts, and on the shelves at home, alongside my cherished Chaka Demus and Pliers cassette and my parent’s slightly more credible collection of Greensleeves vinyl and Gregory Isaacs 12″s.

Sadly reggae’s influence on popular music dwindled from the late nineties onwards (although dancehall-related records still popped their heads over the parapet on occasion), leaving the charts a significantly greyer place. Yet there are signs that this is changing. Tracks like ‘Keep You’ by Wild Belle and ‘Get Free’ by Major Lazer and Amber Coffman revolve around that familiar lilting rhythm, while this year also saw Sean Paul guest on a pop-reggae number one from, um, The Saturdays.

And reggae seems to be returning to more interesting corners too, notably hip-hop. Even aside from Snoop Dogg’s temporary metamorphosis into Snoop Lion, this year has seen French Montana and Nikki Minaj collaborate over ‘Muder She Wrote’ and Jay-Z’s Sizzla-sampling ‘Crown’ form one of the (admittedly few) highlights of his Magna Carta Holy Grail, although far surpassing them both was Joey Bada$$’ ‘My Yout’, which celebrated his Jamaican lineage in fine style, assisted by Collie Buddz and Maverick Sabre on alternate versions.

However, when it comes to reggae-inspired rap, no one does it better than Smif N Wessun, aka MCs Tek and Steele. The duo have incorporated patois into their verses ever since their breakout Dah Shinin’ album in 1995, and while their output has varied since then in quality, style and frequency, this week’s release of Born and Raised sees them right back at the top of their game, with the Jamaican influence to the fore.

While the Beatnick & K-Salaam produced record is technically an EP, the bonus tracks and instrumentals on the deluxe edition take the package up to a satisfying length just shy of 40 minutes. The title track opens the album and lays forth its credentials with guest vocals from Rasta singer Junior Kelly. Lyrically it’s a street-rap cousin of Marlena Shaw’s classic ‘Woman of the Ghetto’, while a strident bassline adds a Kingston tint to the duo’s Brooklyn tales.

‘Shots in the Dark’ centres on a sample of The Revolutionaries’ dub classic ‘Kunta Kinte’, which as Rebel MC knows is a pretty perfect way to kick off any track. It’s far from a straight rip though, with the rhythm and chord progression nicely altered while retaining some of the original’s timeless sonics.

The minor chord progression on ‘Solid Ground’ then knocks it out the park, forging one of the strongest tracks on the record, helped not least by a guest appearance by ’80s reggae legend (and former Black Uhuru vocalist) Junior Reid. Tek revisits his verse from ‘Hol Fam’ by Freeway – “I’m just a hoodie nigga in the fast lane / The Usain Bolt of the crack game” – which seems a little lazy, as well as not entirely fitting with the overall vibe, but that’s nit-picking on an otherwise superb track.

More tasty roots sampling (of a King Tubby production) emerges on ‘These Streets’, which sees Steele offer shout-outs to “killers in Kingston and bad man in Brixton”. There’s a hell of a lot going on here though, so the more restrained moments of ‘Kamikaze’ are a welcome follow-up, with little but kick, snare rim, and guitar stabs with a dub echo accompanying the moody verses.

‘Rich Gyal’ rounds off the record in smooth fashion, and is probably the poppiest track here. On the face of it a straight-up track about gold-digging – “She say she wants something real / Something she can feel because love don’t pay the bills” – it goes a little deeper into the genesis of those feelings, laying the blame at a deadbeat dad and a moaning mum. The high-grade production contrasts dramatically with the first of the bonus tracks, a distant, dusty live recording with the Judah Tribe Reggae Band, but ‘All Massive’ returns to the record’s signature sound; based around another choice sample (‘Freak Out Skank’ by The Upsetters), it’s a fine way to close proceedings (although the instrumental versions of ‘Solid Ground’ and ‘Born and Raised’ don’t go amiss either).

Still, while this is mainly a musical celebration, the duo clearly aren’t averse to moneyspinning sidelines either. Various Kickstarter-style packages of the album are available on the Duck Down Music site, bundles which include the obligatory grinders, rolling papers and matchboxes. We recommend the $500 package, which includes a one hour Smif N Wessun ‘smoke session’ while you listen to some tracks with the lads. You don’t need to be high to enjoy Born and Raised (I wasn’t), but it probably helps…

While Jamaican music has mutated into several new forms since the ’70s (which many would term the island’s musical heyday), it’s satisfying to see the classic production of that era being celebrated like this. Reggae may have been off the mainstream agenda for some time, but with this EP Smif N Wessun have shown there’s life in it yet.

Kier Wiater Carnihan