Barrington Levy

Tue., July 13, 8 p.m., $21-$37, with Homegrown and Spokey Speaky, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman

An unstoppable force in Jamaican music over the past three decades — the biggest dancehall star of the '80s, and a key inspiration behind the development of ragga and jungle in the '90s — the velvet-voiced Barrington Levy has never managed to replicate his U.K. success (let alone his domination of his home island) stateside. Notwithstanding a recent track that featured Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne and Barack Obama. But even here, hits like "Here I Come" and "Under Me Sensi" have become familiar musical and cultural touchstones, even among non-reggae listeners.