Shalkal Lands Collab With Zimbabwean Dancehall Artist Ninja Lipsy
Jamaican dancehall artiste Shalkal has an uncanny ability to use homegrown wisdom culled from the Jamaican society to create impactful digital songs that resonate with an international audience. The artiste is now basking in the success of his latest single, Put God First featuring Zimbabwean dancehall artiste Ninja Lipsy.
The video racked up over 20,000 plus views in one week since its release and is arguably his most successful song to date.
“A friend of Ninja Lipsy was playing the Put God First song on iTunes and liked the sound of it and contacted me via email. We started corresponding from there and decided to do a remix, and it came off so well. It shows that Jamaican wisdom has worldwide appeal,” Shalkal said.
The song has been added to rotation on POWER FM in Zimbabwe and on IRIE FM in Jamaica.
Shalkal will be redoubling his efforts to produce music which narrate stories through his songs using Jamaican metaphors.
“It’s not uncommon for Jamaicans to use just one metaphor to describe, or express their situation, and immediately everyone knows exactly what they mean. This is the reason I have such a great appreciation for Jamaican metaphors, and I’m glad to translate this to music,” he said.
As the music climate continues to evolve, it is clear that it will require initiative, and hard work from those who wish to stay on top.
“It’s really important to focus on the things that really matter. Not everything deserves your energy. It just doesn’t,” Shalkal said about what 2020 has taught him. “There are things that we worry about that won’t matter in a month, and this whole COVID experience has taught us that life is too short. People are losing their lives every day. Focus on what really matters in your life.”
A few years ago, Shalkal finally decided to step in the booth after years of being a successful entrepreneur.
Shalkal had previously released the humorous ‘Ungrateful Mawga Dog’ that racked up thousands of streams online, underscoring his status as a talented wordsmith.
He grew up in Runaway Bay, St Ann where he attended York Castle High in Brown’s Town, and is also known for songs such as “Envious So” which spawned numerous dance videos which surfaced on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Other songs include “Come Money Come”, “Fi You Money”, and “Money Dance”.
Shalkal also had some personal advice for artistes who keep getting caught in never-ending beefs and verbals spats on social media.
“2020 is the year that a global pandemic claimed over a one million lives, 2021 is shaping up to be very deadly as well so it is a time for deep self-reflection. Beefs and spats are not the future of Jamaican music, just look at international trends and you will see,” Shalkal said.
He wants to release an EP in 2021 and he has enough great tracks to make it a sparkling effort.
“I create real, authentic music,” he said. “I have messages and songs with depth. I don’t always purposefully mean to do that, but I have a lot to say that I’ve held in for a lot of years and when I get in the studio, I just feel at home and let the vibes flow through me and onto the record.”