Koffee, Shenseea And Masicka Have The Best-Selling Jamaican Reggae/Dancehall Albums Of 2022
As far as litmus tests go, there are not many metrics more reliable at assessing how an artist is doing commercially than album sales and streams in the United States. The country remains the biggest and most valuable market for recorded music in the world.
Debut albums from Koffee, Shenseea and Masicka were the best-selling projects from Jamaican artists released in 2022, according to data provided to DancehallMag from US sales tracker Luminate Data (formerly known as MRC Data, and before that Nielsen Music).
From Skeng’s Beast Of The Era EP to Koffee’s Gifted, let’s explore the numbers for Jamaican Reggae/Dancehall projects released during the year.
Editor’s Notes:
- This article includes only albums released in 2022 (with an exception made for Masicka’s 438, which was released on December 3, 2021). It does not include older albums, such as Bob Marley, Sean Paul, and Shaggy’s greatest hits collections, which continue to dominate the Year-End Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Koffee’s Gifted and Shenseea’s Alpha were the only albums in this article to enter that Year-End chart.
- Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred for units, and the nearest hundred thousand for streams.
- “Lifetime” album units include sales/streaming equivalents for pre-released songs that dropped before January 1, 2022. For example, Shenseea’s album included Blessed (2019), Masicka’s album included They Don’t Know (2018), and Koffee’s album included Lockdown (2020).
- The list is not exhaustive as data for some titles was not available. If/When the data becomes available, the article will be updated.
Skeng – Beast Of The Era EP
Skeng’s status as one of Jamaica’s hottest new acts was a fact betrayed by the numbers for his Beast of The Era EP. Even so, it was an endeavor that proved more of the same for the St. Catherine native, whose unique sound and lyrical efficiency continue to win him fans all over the world.
Released: November 4, 2022
Label: RG Music and Geejam Recordings
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 0
First Week Albums: 0
2022 Units: 100
2022 On-Demand Streaming: n/a
Lifetime Units: 100
Lifetime Albums: 100
Bling Dawg – Elev8
The Aji Bounce deejay has not lost his touch with producing timely and positively inspiring music. But, his debut album Elev8—a 19-track project grounded in introspection, love, struggle and triumph—did not get the streams it deserved in the US.
Released: February 4, 2022
Label: Creative Titans Music
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 0
First Week Albums: 0
2022 Units: 100
2022 On-Demand Streaming: n/a
Lifetime Units: 100
Lifetime Albums: 100
Jahmiel – Legend
Jahmiel’s 16-track album Legend saw the singer comfortably and impressively flexing his range, complete with influences from Afrobeat and R&B, all while delivering a firmly rooted Dancehall and Reggae experience.
Released: April 15, 2022
Label: Sweet Music
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 100
First Week Albums: 100
2022 Units: 200
2022 On-Demand Streaming: n/a
Lifetime Units: 200
Lifetime Albums: 200
Runkus – OUT:SIDE
Runkus told clashmusic.com, “I was grown cultural, so that means, Rastafarian roots music, reggae, one drop, dancehall, all that is natural to Jamaica is second nature to I. However, I simply do music, not just reggae, not just dancehall, not just roots rock… I DO MUSIC!” That approach can certainly be felt in this 10-track album, which picked up 380,000 on-demand streams.
Released: July 22, 2022
Label: Delicious Vinyl Island, Runkus Music and Toddla T Ltd.
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: n/a
First Week Albums: n/a
2022 Units: 300
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 380,000
Lifetime Units: 300
Lifetime Albums: 100
Jimmy Cliff – Refugees
Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Cliff took that accomplishment quite literally when he set out to make this 13-track project, which – though undeniably a Reggae album, felt more like 70’s Rock, Pop and Hip Hop, interspersed with a few contemporary music elements. The album, which got 200,000 on-demand streams in 2022, ultimately manages to latch onto purposes greater than commercial traction, and drives a stake into the heart of modern issues concerning refugees, displacement, and homelessness.
Released: August 12, 2022
Label: Sunpower Productions and UMG Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: –
First Week Albums: –
2022 Units: 500
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 200,000
Lifetime Units: 500
Lifetime Albums: 400
Shaggy – Com Fly Wid Mi
Shaggy and Sting’s ambitious Frank Sinatra project accomplished what it set out to – prove both Shaggy and Reggae’s versatility, all while honoring Sinatra’s timeless and enviable legacy. The 11-track project cross-pollinated the best elements of Reggae with the best of Jazz, and created a new yet oddly familiar sound, worthy of its recent Grammy nomination.
Released: May 25, 2022
Label: Mr. Luva Luva Inc.
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 400
First Week Albums: 400
2022 Units: 800
2022 On-Demand Streaming: n/a
Lifetime Units: 800
Lifetime Albums: 800
Alkaline – The Ripple Effx EP
The Vendetta Boss’ six-track EP The Ripple Effx largely flew under the radar, but is a body of work no less valuable than its immediate predecessor, Top Prize. Turns out the undersell was intentional, with Alkaline’s team setting out to prove, as much to themselves as to his fans, he still held sway in a genre he’s seen the mountaintop of. To some extent, they proved that, with the project, labeled a “gift for fans… with no promotional thrust”, accumulating 700,000 on-demand streams in the US after one month of tracking.
Released: December 9, 2022
Label: Autobamb Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 600
First Week Albums: n/a
2022 Units: 800
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 700,000
Lifetime Units: 800
Lifetime Albums: 400
Vybz Kartel – True Religion EP
With seven tracks and 1.2 million on-demand streams for this project, Vybz Kartel showed why he is still revered in Dancehall, even as an uncharacteristic lover boy. The EP is intentionally overrun with adoration for the incarcerated deejay’s fiancé.
Released: September 30, 2022
Label: Adidjaheim Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 300
First Week Albums: n/a
2022 Units: 900
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 1,200,000
Lifetime Units: 900
Lifetime Albums: 200
Spice – Emancipated
Queen of Dancehall Spice shrugged aside her royal garb on this nine-track album, and dove head-first into the sexy mess that once paved her path to the throne. An always clever marketer, Spice seemingly took a detour from mainstream approval, only to corner her targets – females looking to uninhibitedly let loose. The raw and unfiltered project amassed 2.2 million on-demand streams in the US.
Released: August 26, 2022
Label: Stealth Music and Spice Official
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: No. 7
First Week Units: 1,500
First Week Albums: 700
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 2,200,000
2022 Units: 2,300
Lifetime Units: 2,300
Lifetime Albums: 700
Kranium – In Too Deep EP
Kranium has always been a man about his business, and his EP, In Too Deep, was an exercise rooted in just that. The EP has 5.8 million on-demand streams in the US. Impressive, considering he told Billboard last year, “I really thought I was going to be one-hit wonder.”
Released: November 18, 2022
Label: Atlantic Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: n/a
First Week Albums: n/a
2022 Units: 4,000
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 5,800,000
Lifetime Units: 4,000
Lifetime Albums: 200
Rygin King – Therapy
Rygin King’s debut album Therapy is a honest and introspective look at his life after he almost lost it a little over two years ago. The 11-track album fully immerses you in Rygin King’s pain, regret, palpable anger and denial, just before soulfully lulling you into the Unbreakable artist’s hard-earned acceptance. Behind its 5.1 million on-demand streams in the US, Therapy may be Rygin King’s most impactful work yet.
Released: September 9, 2022
Label: Rygin Trap Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: n/a
First Week Units: 750
First Week Albums: 250
2022 Units: 4,000
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 5,100,000
Lifetime Units: 4,000
Lifetime Albums: 300
Kabaka Pyramid – The Kalling
Kabaka Pyramid’s Grammy-nominated album The Kalling is an elaborate, spiritually-driven trip through some seemingly forgotten yet valuable troves in Dancehall and Reggae, all underpinned by the artist’s unpretentious concern for the wellbeing of himself and mankind. Throughout the 15-track album, produced by Damian Marley, Kabaka maintains his sense of conscious spiritual purpose, deservedly acknowledged by its 4.7 million on-demand streams in the US.
Released: September 30, 2022
Label: Ghetto Youths International and Bebble Rock Music
Billboard Reggae Peak Position:
First Week Units: 600
First Week Albums: 280
2022 Units: 4,100
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 4,700,000
Lifetime Units: 4,100
Lifetime Albums: 700
Protoje – Third Time’s The Charm
Protoje’s sixth studio album, the Grammy-nominated Third Time’s The Charm is truly a lesson in persistence, fixity of purpose, and an undying commitment to positive vibrations. It has amassed 5.2 million on-demand streams in the US.
Released: September 23, 2022
Label: In.Digg.Nation Collective and RCA Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: No. 8
First Week Units: 700
First Week Albums: 270
2022 Units: 4,100
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 5,200,000
Lifetime Units: 4,100
Lifetime Albums: 700
Sean Paul – Scorcha
Sean Paul’s legendary status as a Dancehall megastar has not rendered him complacent, and his 2022 Grammy-nominated album, Scorcha (Paul’s eighth studio album), was yet another example of the work ethic and love for the craft. With songs like Only Fanz (ft. Ty Dolla $ign) and Dynamite (ft. Sia), the 16-track album is nothing to scoff at. After 16.2 million on-demand streams in the US, Scorcha stands as a reminder that even after a three-decades-long career, Paul can still turn up the heat.
Released: May 27, 2022
Label: Island Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: No. 6
First Week Units: 1,700
First Week Albums: 600
2022 Units: 13,200
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 16,200,000
Lifetime Units: 24,000
Lifetime Albums: 12,400
Masicka – 438
Arguably one of the best albums in recent Dancehall history, Masicka brings chords of mental health, struggle and triumph in his 16-track debut 438. Tracks like Suicide Note, Pain, and King make it easy to see why the album spent seven weeks on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, and tallied 30.4 million on-demand streams in the US alone.
Released: December 3, 2021
Label: Genahsyde/1Syde Records
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: No. 2
First Week Units: 2,900
First Week Albums: 700
2022 Units: 20,000
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 30,400,000
Lifetime Units: 35,000
Lifetime Albums: 2,000
Shenseea – Alpha
Shenseea’s 14-track debut Alpha album was a project laced with the Blessed artist’s mainstream aspirations. A curious mix between Dancehall, Reggae, Hip-Hop, and Pop, Shenseea pulled out all the stops that would guarantee Alpha a vibrant and engaged audience in the U.S. For her efforts, and with featured artists like Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Offset, Sean Paul, and Beenie Man, the album pulled in 56.6 million on-demand streams in the US and has spent nine weeks on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
Released: March 11, 2022
Label: Interscope Records/Rich Immigrants
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: No. 2
First Week Units: 4,900
First Week Albums: 800
2022 Units: 40,700
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 56,600,000
Lifetime Units: 63,000
Lifetime Albums: 3,500
Koffee – Gifted
Koffee‘s first full-length album Gifted was a gentle reminder that the Spanish Town native had not only found her lane, but was thriving in it. The 10-track project, released by Promised Land/RCA, amassed some 77.8 million on-demand streams in the US and has spent 38 weeks on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
Released: March 25, 2022
Label: Sony Music UK/RCA/Promise Land
Billboard Reggae Peak Position: No. 2
First Week Units: 3,500
First Week Albums: 700
2022 Units: 55,400
2022 On-Demand Streaming: 77,800,000
Lifetime Units: 230,000
Lifetime Albums: 12,400