Alkaline Reveals Release Date, Cover Art And Tracklist For New Album ‘Top Prize’
Vendetta fans erupted with joy last night after top-flight Dancehall deejay Alkaline posted a teaser on Instagram stating that his highly-anticipated sophomore album Top Prize is now available for pre-order.
In the Instagram post shared shortly after 8:00 pm on Tuesday, the After All artist revealed that the 14-track compilation would be available on May 14, 2021.
Over the last few days, fans have been demanding that Alkaline drop the album after he archived his posts, but on Tuesday night it was all jubilation as they were now content that Champion Boy had delivered.
https://www.instagram.com/p/COMLkHPHdjm/
Among the Vendetta fans cheering him on was fellow deejay Dovey Magnum who wrote: “This is hit 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😩😩😩😩😩😩😩”.
“Yes… mi feel nice,” girlherselfff said while draco_marr noted: “I’ve never been so anxious in my life for an album #topprize 🖖🏾🏆
“Can’t wait to give this album a listen the last album was a masterpiece what will we got next the anticipations is through the roof,” _._unreleased wrote.
Then there were also scores of fans like supreme_clay who, contrary to claims that Jamaicans do not purchase music, said he had his “credit card out”, an indication that he would be supporting the 26-year-old by buying his music.
Alkaline dropped the title track and lead single for Top Prize in February. Ocean Wave, Cree, and Deh Suh were also previously released.
Here’s the complete tracklist.
- Top Prize
- Ocean Wave
- Deh Suh
- Maniac
- Magic
- Hostage
- Twerc
- More Life
- Nuh Trust Mankind
- Ah
- Heat A Di Moment
- Cree
- Medicine
- Payroll
Based on the response from his massive fan base and the performance of his debut album New Level Unlocked in 2016, Alkaline who has been described as one of Dancehall’s greatest lyricists, could again top the Reggae Billboard charts.
New Level Unlocked was released in March 2016 by DJ Frass Records, and sold 741 copies in the first week. It went on to top the Billboard Reggae Charts that April where Vendetta fans purchasing power enabled it to remain for 18 weeks, and made the Ardenne High School old boy at the time, the first Dancehall deejay to have a number one album on the charts in five years.
New Level Unlocked was also ranked at number 3 in Billboard’s “10 Best Reggae Albums of 2016.
The album featured songs such as Wait Yuh Turn, One Life, Try Again, One More Time, Side Chick, Direction and ATM as well as the huge hit Champion Boy, which became an anthem for Prime Minister Andrew Holness during his election campaign that year. Champion Boy was also remixed to form part of an advertisement for the Red Stripe National Premier Football League making the song even more popular.
Alkaline’s strategy to make the new album available for pre-order weeks before its May 14 release, and a seemingly tacit invitation Vendetta fans to buy the album, could enable it to rise to the top like its predecessor.
As outlined by General Manager of the Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS), Evon Mullings in March, entertainers can directly market their music to their fans and ask them frontally to purchase digital copies, this amid comparatively low music sales, which hinders Jamaican artists from climbing the Billboard charts.
Billboard charting has been seen as the music industry’s favourite chart, and has been desirous as it validates the work put in by independent artistes. It is considered objective evidence of their audience and the singers’ potential. First week sales have been particularly important for industry players.
Mullings had said there was no question that loyal fans will buy their favourite artiste’s music, once the artiste invites and urges them to, and this will reap dividends, as more of their work will be able to make the Billboard charts.
“We can be strategic and make money from this because if you are going to release an album or a single, you plan for that and then play to your local fan base and say ‘my album is going to be released in three months’ time and you build that up and encourage your fan base locally to buy; and they will,” Mullings had said.
“For you to make an impact on Billboard all you need is probably somewhere between a thousand to 2000 units sold and you are number one on the Billboard chart. So if you can leverage your local fan base, to get even 500 persons to buy your album that’s coming out you can actually be quite far,” he said.