Alkaline’s ‘Top Prize’ First Week Album Sales Are In
Alkaline’s Top Prize has sold 1,527 in pure album sales in its first week of release, according to information provided to DancehallMag by MRC Data, and is predicted to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
There has been a lot of dialogue on social media around the performance of the Dancehall star’s latest project since the album’s release on May 14. According to MRC Data, Top Prize ‘s first-week total consumption amounted to 2,957 units, which includes track sales and streams in the United States.
Bob Marley’s Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers moved 3,986 in pure album sales, and 13,506 total units in consumption during the same period last week.
Based on that data, Top Prize was outdone by Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 30-year-old album, which is expected to remain at No. 1 on the chart this week for 72 weeks in a row.
At No. 3 this week will be Shaggy’s Boombastic Collection with 2,849 units.
The Billboard Reggae Albums chart combines both streaming and sales from the US and will be updated tomorrow, May 25.
With pre-released hits like Cree and Ocean Wave, Alkaline showed off confidence in his growth on the new LP. Other stand-out tracks were Maniac, Hostage, and Magic. The 14 track project, which was released independently, peaked at No. 1 on the Reggae iTunes chart and No. 6 in all genres in the US. This stands as an improvement on Alkaline’s first album, New Level Unlocked.
In 2016, that album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Album chart. Executive produced and released by DJ Frass Records, the 15-track compilation had sold 741 copies in its first week, according to MRC. New Level Unlocked was the first Dancehall album to debut at No. 1 on the Reggae chart since Shaggy’s Summer In Kingston EP in 2011.
Buju Banton‘s Upside Down 2020 debuted at No. 2 on that chart, with 2,995 units sold in the first week following its June 26, 2020 release. Vybz Kartel‘s Of Dons & Divas , which was released on the same day, debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Reggae chart with 1,016 units sold.
Popcaan‘s FIXTAPE debuted at No. 94 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart after it sold 686 copies in the first week after its August 7, 2020 release. The Unruly deejay’s other projects, Where We Come From (2014), Forever (2018) and Vanquish (2020), all peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae chart.
Producer Jeremy Harding, in commenting on the state of Reggae-Dancehall in relation to album sales, said “The state of dancehall has always been dismal. New technologies don’t affect that. It’s the same limited consumer base with very little purchasing power or mindset”.
Harding said he believed that the informal structure of the music business and, in particular, as it relates to Dancehall, prevents artists from seeing success in record sales compared to their overseas counterparts.
“Our culture of consumption for Dancehall was never about buying anything. Neither records, downloads or streaming. They consume on YouTube for free. They go to Uptown Mondays and they listen to the ZJs and DJs.”
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