YG Marley Brings Reggae Back To The Billboard Hot 100 Chart After 7 Years
YG Marley’s debut single, Praise Jah In The Moonlight, is the first Reggae song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 7 years. He’s the sixth member of the Marley family to enter the chart.
The song, which opens with a vocal sample from YG’s grandfather Bob Marley‘s song Crisis and is co-written by his mother, Ms. Lauryn Hill, debuted at No. 74 on the Hot 100 chart dated February 10.
It’s the first Reggae single to do so since Jay-Z and Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley’s Bam, which peaked at No. 47 in 2017, and Jr. Gong’s Welcome To Jamrock, which peaked at No. 55 in 2005.
Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Roots, Rock, Reggae was their only song to reach the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 51 in 1976.
Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers have two entries on the chart: Tomorrow People, which peaked at 29, and Good Time, which peaked at No. 85. Ky-Mani Marley also has two entries on the chart for his featured appearances on PM Dawn’s Gotta Be…Movin’ On Up, which peaked at No. 9, and Refugee Camp All Stars’ Avenues, which peaked at No. 35.
Skip Marley has one entry on the chart, thanks to his Katy Perry collaboration, Chained to the Rhythm, which peaked at No. 4 in 2017.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange told DancehallMag that she isn’t shocked that another Marley achieved this feat, especially on the King of Reggae’s birthday. “It’s unsurprising that YG Marley has joined Bob and Damian in this year of ‘One Love,’” she said.
The song, which explores themes of love, spirituality, and resilience, is also currently at No. 20 on the UK Official Singles chart, No. 33 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard New Zealand Songs chart.
Praise Jah In The Moonlight has also debuted at No. 81 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
The song has over 36 million plays on Spotify since its release on December 27, 2023. The official audio on YouTube has 5.5 million views.
Lloyd Laing—conceptualizer of CertifiedStreams and music director at Edge 105 FM—shared that it is the season for the Marleys to reign supreme. “I don’t think the success of the single comes as a surprise considering the anticipation following the live reveal. And considering the bloodline he’s a thorough bred,” he told DancehallMag.
The music expert also reasoned that the family has remained consistent, one generation after the other, and anticipates a similar pattern to continue for years to come.
“As I always say, Reggae remains a super genre with a lot of goodwill worldwide..the fact that good music is still being churned out of the House of Gong is impressive. We [are] talking 3/4 generations of continuity. As a black business, that’s impressive on its own,” he said.
Born Joshua Omaru Marley, YG is the son of Rohan Marley.
On the Billboard Reggae Albums chart dated February 10, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Legend holds the top stot for a remarkable 212 non-consecutive weeks.
Shaggy’s Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection, Sean Paul’s Dutty Classics Collection, and UB40’s Greatest Hits are at Nos. 2 through 4.
Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock album has re-entered the chart at No. 5.
Stick Figure’s trio of albums World On Fire, Set In Stone and Wisdom are at Nos. 6 through 8.
Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Gold and Damian Marley’s Welcome To Jamrock albums have re-entered the chart at No. 9 and 10.