Alkaline Still Dancehall’s ‘Main Danger’ Without Grammy Nomination
Suave deejay Alkaline may not have been included in the 2022 Grammy Awards nominations, but the numbers show he’s still the Dancehall artist with the best-selling album of 2021. According to the deejay’s manager and sister, Kereena Beckford, Top Prize remains one of the biggest commercial successes of the year, based on sales and streams.
The 14-track album that was released in May generated nearly 3,000 units in sales and streaming during its first week, outperforming all other Dancehall albums released during the year (so far). By August, it had recorded 600,000 radio spins.
Full-length projects released by Vybz Kartel, Spice, Tommy Lee Sparta, Demarco, Konshens, Usain Bolt, Jahvillani, and Skillibeng all failed to eclipse Top Prize. However, there’s still one month to go in 2021, with albums expected in December from Masicka and Bounty Killer.
“From the announcement of Alkaline’s sophomore album to its official release and the ongoing criticism, we’ve held ourselves to an international standard whilst keeping the fans at the core of everything we do,” Beckford told THE WEEKEND STAR.
“So, when the team compiled the body of work to reflect where our talent was artistically, and meet the demands of the fans as well as stakeholders, we knew of the challenges and met them head on. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Album charts, No. 1 on the US Current Reggae album chart and was 56th on the US Top Current Album sales chart,” she said.
Beckford added that the “reactions of loyal Vendetta fans” demonstrated that “the album remains the people’s choice and his music is still ‘top prize'”.
“Alkaline’s legacy will be judged by history. To the other players in the industry, congratulations whether or not you’ve received a nomination. We can’t say thank you enough to the Vendetta fans for their unrelenting defense and unwavering support.”
Top Prize’s absence from the list of Grammy Awards nominations has left Vendetta fans to believe that the Champion Boy hitmaker was ‘getting a fight’. Critics argue, however, that the Recording Academy members are required to vote solely based upon quality, without consideration for sales and chart performance.
Nonetheless, the Dancehall entertainer continues to do what he does best with the release of his latest single Bareback that just dropped on Friday. Produced by Autobamb and Sponge Music Records, Alkaline stays true to his hardcore swag, while issuing melody and vibe, producing yet a danceable track.
Press play on Alkaline’s new animated video for Bareback below.
Meanwhile, Alkaline told the STAR that he’s focused on releasing new music and embarking on other investments.
“Work never stopped. New Rules coming to Miami in March. NFTs … yuh know me still ah meds it,” he said.