Brick & Lace’s Nyla Asks Why ‘Love Is Wicked’ Is Trending On TikTok, But Never Played On US Radio

Nyla Thorbourne, one-half of the duo Brick & Lace, was a mixture of confused and peeved in an Instagram reel, where she asked why Love Is Wicked wasn’t getting airplay on American radio stations, despite the fact that the 2007 single has been trending on TikTok.

“I wanted to come on here because I’ve been seeing now with the whole research that Love Is Wicked and trending on TikTok and I guess people checking out our music again….what I realize and I don’t understand is why you never hear Love Is Wicked being played on US radio,” the singer asked on Friday (February 10).

She continued: “Even if they’re playing it in a segment with Sean Paul, or Wayne Wonder, some of the other classics you will never hear them bring up a Love Is Wicked unless you going out to like a club or a Jamaican dancehall. Just help me to understand. Like, if people are putting it in legendary status, just give it the respect that it’s due…I’m not asking you to play any of my other songs, just play the one that people love.”

Love Is Wicked, the second single from Brick & Lace’s debut album of the same title, was laid on the classic 2002 Diwali Riddim, which featured also Sean Paul’s Get Busy and Wayne Wonder’s No Letting Go.

The hook of the song has garnered a new wave of popularity among fans and celebrities like Sam Smith, reeling in over a hundred million views on TikTok.

So, too, has Sasique’s Kute & Neat, which landed her a record label with Payday Records. 

However, according to New York-based radio promoter Willie Daniels ‘TikTok hits’ do not necessarily resonate on air in the United States. 

“Originally, I think it [Love Is Wicked] was being played when it just came out, but I’m not too sure about afterwards. I know it’s trending on TikTok, but those songs don’t always turn into radio records and sometimes if they do make it to radio, they don’t have the same success,” Daniels told DancehallMag.

“Look at Sasique for example. Her record is huge on TikTok but didn’t make an impact on the radio.”

Daniels promoted Vybz Kartel’s Fever, Koffee’s Toast, Serani’s No Games, Gyptian’s Hold Yuh, and Skip Marley and H.E.R.’s Slow Down, among others, to urban and mainstream radio in the US.

He argued that the newer crop of Jamaican artists was no longer producing music that was appealing and that some do not invest extra time in conceptualizing clean versions.

“Let’s take Shaggy, Sean Paul and Vegas for example. They have records that are digestible across the board in concept, content…everything. Dancehall at one point was the fun music, but it has taken on a dark aura. One of the problems is a lot of people do not make radio edits. If you are serious about making radio, edit the tracks. They look at stuff like rap and say it talks about the same thing, but Dancehall was more fun and that’s why Afrobeats is working now—because it’s fun,” he said.

Daniels, a former A&R at VP Records, added that international singers have taken the opportunity to dabble in authentic Dancehall music, since many Jamaican artists have shifted away.

“People want Dancehall, but they want it in a way that’s digestible to everyone. Sam Smith for example takes the sound and make it work for him. They (international artists) make the sound that people wanna hear. You have records like Angel and Everyone Falls In Love Sometimes that still do well because they have the melodic sound that people want,” he explained.

Daniels also noted that younger artists should place more value on relationships in the industry.

“They’re only about the bag and streams and that’s it,” he said.

“Shaggy and Sean Paul are career artists. They can call on someone that they met while they were coming up in the industry to this day. They understand the business side of things.”