Reggae And Dancehall Seeing Increased Album Releases

There’s a large number of Reggae and Dancehall albums set to drop just in time for summer.  It seems Jamaican artists used the protracted lockdowns and canceled live performances over the last year, to put extra time in the studios across the island and around the world.

The artists and their record labels also seem to be capitalizing on the full integration of streaming in Jamaica and the Caribbean since the entry of Apple Music last year and Spotify, earlier this year. There are currently over 60 new reggae and dancehall projects available for pre-order on iTunes to be released over the next month.

Steve Urchin, manager to Sean Paul said during an interview on the World Music Views Podcast that, “Streaming puts the power in the hands of people in their own countries. We have always been the purveyors of cool and artists will now have a thermometer to measure how well they are doing”.

First up is Moods by I-Octane set for release on May 7. This is his fourth album following the 2018 Love And Life.

Dancehall’s top contender Alkaline and German Reggae superstar Gentleman will be dropping their respective projects on May 14.  Alkaline’s much-anticipated sophomore project Top Prize is already fueling discussions after his unconventional Audiomack live performance last week.   The 14-track set will include previous releases Ocean Wave, Cree, Deh Suh, and the title track Top Prize.

Gentleman will deliver the deluxe version of his November 2020 album Blaue Stunde which features five additional tracks.

Also on May 14, Popstyle Music will be releasing the Better Muss Come Riddim featuring Sizzla, Bugle, Ce’Cile, Tosh Alexander, Kznamdi and Romain Virgo.

Other projects set to drop this summer include Joe Mersa’s Eternal on May 21, Collie Buddz’ Cali Roots Riddim 2021 and the legendary Big Youth joins Brain Drain for the album Beyond The Blue on May 28.

Dancehall star Intence is also set a drop a second project this year.  His 5 track Wounded EP will be released sometime in May under VP Records, which follows his March Public Enemy No. 1 Mixtape.

Italian reggae singer Alborosie will present For The Culture on June 4. Meanwhile, Jesse Royal’s Royal and Turbulence’s The Remedy will be released on June 11.

Spice told DancehallMag that her debut album, TEN, will arrive on July 30.

Her Go Down Deh collaborator, Sean Paul, is also expected to drop his second album this year, titled Scorcher, in time for summer.  Scorcher will feature Gwen Stefani, Sia, Shenseea, Jada Kingdom, and Stylo G, according to the Temperature deejay.

Bounty Killer (Kings of Kingston), Beenie Man (Simma), Chronixx (Dela Splash), Shenseea, and Rygin King all have upcoming albums, but no confirmed release dates.