Byron Messia’s ‘Talibans’ Surges On UK Charts
Talibans, the hit song by Kittitian Dancehall star Byron Messia, has surged up the UK Singles Chart, climbing 30 places since its debut on the chart last week, to currently holding the No. 37 spot.
The weekly-compiled chart – which considers the sales of CD, vinyl, downloads, and audio and video streams in the United Kingdom – currently features no other Dancehall song among the list of 100.
Talibans was the chart’s second-biggest gainer of the week, behind Hannah Lang and Roro’s Good Love, which moved from No. 63 to No. 22.
Dave and Central Cee’s Sprinter debuted at No. 1, followed by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s Miracle, Jazzy’s Giving Me, Switch Disco & Ella Henderson’s React, and David Kushner’s Daylight at Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively.
Talibans has also jumped to No. 13 on the UK Hip-Hop/R&B Singles chart, up from No. 24 last week.
Produced by Ztekk Records and EJ Fya, the song, which was released on January 20, has been the driving force behind the resurgence of Messia’s debut album, No Love, which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart, almost five months after its release.
Billboard’s sales tracker Luminate told DancehallMag that Talibans has recorded 39,000 units in sales and streaming in the US since its release, including 10,000 units during the week of May 26 through June 1.
In an earlier interview, Messia explained that the song was the result of a light-hearted freestyle. He had shared: “In the making of Taliban, it wasn’t even something serious. I never wrote down the lyrics for Taliban. It’s based on pure inside jokes.”
More recently, the star revealed that the single was also a bit of an experiment in what would occur if he opted to inject some Caribbean ‘griminess’ onto an Afrobeats-riddim.
“Yeah, so if you really think ‘bout it – a jus dat yuh a hear – rebellious songs and loving songs. No griminess,” Byron Messia shared in a sit-down with Capital Xtra’s Ras Kwame. With that thought spurring his experiment, Messia got to work. “Suh mi jus seh, ‘Yuh know wa? Mi ago apply dat and see wa gwaan… and see it deh… Mi jus’ yow, mi ago do somethin’ different, mi ago switch it up and mek dem talk ‘bout it’ and… yeah.”
Messia later clarified that he considered Talibans a Dancehall song.
Coincidentally, the track was intended to be a ladies’ song, but its closest resemblance to that initial goal wound up being a mention of Jamaican singer Jada Kingdom, who was also featured in the song’s music video – which currently has over 24 million views in four months on YouTube.
Messia, among the latest batch of talent to be reportedly signed to Interscope Records, continues to celebrate his success, but refuses to let it lull him into complacency.
According to him, “It’s a wonderful feeling but it’s still a normal feeling because… I never try to get too comfortable or to try to even feel like I’m man of the hour. I still have ‘nuff work to put in.”
The St. Kitts and Nevis-based artist is currently finalizing his second studio album, Sad & Famous, which is expected to feature Dancehall superstar Skillibeng, as well as a few other notable features.