“The Tortured Poets Department,” by Taylor Swift makes its grand entrance at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 4). Taylor now ties Jay-Z’s Record for the most U.S. Billboard 200 #1 albums as Swift’s latest album. Both she and Jay now have 14 chart toppers as a solo artist while The Beatles hold the record with 19 No. 1s. “The Tortured Poets Department” released April 19 via Taylor and Universal Music Group amassed an impressive 2.61 million equivalent album units in the U.S. for the week ending April 25. Of that amount Traditional album sales, including digital downl ..read more

“N.O.R.E.” by Noreaga was released on April 28, 1998, as the lead single from his eponymous debut solo album. It marked his emergence of a solo artist poised to leave an indelible mark on the rap scene in a time when DMX, Jay Z and Snoop Dogg reigned, with posthumous arguments about who is the best MC, Tupac or Notorious B.I.G. ringing in the ear of very rap fan at the barber shops. Noreaga, initially part of Capone-N-Noreaga, faced a pivotal moment when partner Capone was incarcerated before their debut album The War Report, release in 1997. “N.O.R.E.” wasn’t just a song; it was a declar ..read more

Mind Control, Stephen Marley’s debut album has surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify. This is Stephen’s second album to reach the milestone on the platform, following his 2011 album Revelation Part 1: The Root Of Life. Released on March 27, 2007, via Universal/ Tuff Gong, Mind Control won Best Reggae Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Recorded in Marley’s Lion’s Den studio in Miami, Florida, as well as Marley Music and Tuff Gong studios in Kingston, Jamaica, “Mind Control” is a fusion of reggae, hip-hop, and soul influences. Produced solely by Stephen Marley himself, the album serves fea ..read more

Vybz Kartel has surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify across his catalog. Of that amount, the incarcerated deejay has 744 million as the lead artist and 570 million from his solo releases. Kartel’s top song is “Fever,” from the album “King Of The Dancehall,” which has surpassed 92 million streams and receives a daily average of 55,953 listens. Following behind is “Royalty,” featuring Ky-Mani Marley and Stefflon Don, with 42.9 million streams and a daily average of 9,223. “International Criminal” trails slightly with 41 million streams, “Summer Time” has a total of 37.6 million, and rounding o ..read more

UB45 by UB40 is the latest album by the top selling reggae band to debut on the U.K. Official Albums Chart. The 14 track album released April 19, 2024 via SoNo Recording Group/Evo Music has re-recorded versions of their classics, and debuts at #5. This is their first entry on the chart since “Unprecedented” (November 2022) featuring breakout members Ali Campbell and Astro which peaked at #8 for one week. The 4 time Grammy nominated reggae group now has a record 36 entries, including live albums to hit the the UK Albums Chart since their first album “Signing Off” (August 9, 1980) whic ..read more

Latin star Farruko performed Rasta Reggae (Jamming) at the Latin American Music Awards along with reggae star Ky-Mani Marley. With a band dressed in army fatigue, Ky-Mani appeared on stage in full black to sing his father’s lyrics in the song ‘Rasta Reggae (Jamming)’ after Farukko started the performance with his new song ‘Confía.’ ‘Rasta Reggae (Jamming)’  is produced by Miami based hitmaker Maffio which samples Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1977 hit “Jamming” from the album Exodus. The Latin reggae track was released on February 14 on the official deluxe version o ..read more

“Niña Bonita,” released in 2023, becomes Sean Paul’s first win at the Latin American Music Award with Colombian singer Feid.   The song seized the title for “Collaboration Crossover of the Year” at the 2024 Latin American Music Awards ceremony held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 25. Niña Bonita de @ferxxo4 y @duttypaul es Colaboración Crossover Del Año en #LatinAMAs pic.twitter.com/o6I7Z3eH5s — Latin American Music Awards (@LatinAMAs) April 26, 2024 “Niña Bonita” emerged victorious, marking a significant milestone in Sean Paul’s ambitions to bride the gap betwee ..read more

Sean Paul becomes the first Jamaican artist to win a Latin American Music Award for the collaboration with Colombian singer Feid, “Niña Bonita,” released in 2023. The song seized the title for “Collaboration Crossover of the Year” at the prestigious 2024 Latin American Music Awards ceremony held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 25. Niña Bonita de @ferxxo4 y @duttypaul es Colaboración Crossover Del Año en #LatinAMAs pic.twitter.com/o6I7Z3eH5s — Latin American Music Awards (@LatinAMAs) April 26, 2024 Competing against top pop latin contenders such as J Balvin, Usher ..read more

Damian “Junior Gong” Marley never wanted to pursue music using his father’s name, said Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange, Jamaica’s Minister Of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sports. In her address at the launch of the “Dancehall Queen” book by Professor Donna Hope at Mecca Night Club at Marketplace St. Andrew, on Thursday, April 18, she recalled the young Marley’s early aspirations to become a deejay rather than a reggae singer. “Little Junior Gong at the age of 12, said, ‘I want to be a DJ’ and everybody said, ‘A Marley wants to be a deejay?’ and every dancehall I went to, I took him with ..read more

Dancehall songs glorifying speeding are now on the Broadcasting Commission’s banned list in Jamaica, and Fame 95 FM has found itself in hot water and having to air an apology after the station played songs promoting fast and reckless driving on the airwaves. The brand, which falls under the RJR Gleaner group, has been issuing an apology over the last few days for what it says are the transmission of illegal activities relating to excessive speeding. “The Broadcasting Commission has determined that Fame 95 FM aired a song with lyrics that glorified driving at the excessive speed of 220 kilomete ..read more