Mahalia, Burna Boy’s ‘Simmer’, Which Reimagined The ‘Playground’ Riddim, Is Certified Gold In The UK
British-Jamaican singer Mahalia’s 2019 hit Simmer, which featured Burna Boy, is now certified Gold in the UK.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the song was issued a BRIT Certified Gold award on Friday (June 30) after selling over 400,000 copies in the UK, as measured by The Official Charts Company.
Produced by Jonah Christian and Felix Joseph, the song sampled Jeremy Harding’s 1997 Playground riddim, which is best known for Beenie Man’s Who Am I (Sim Simma), as well as Sean Paul’s Infiltrate and Mr. Vegas’ Nike Air (Hands In The Air).
Who Am I is currently certified Silver in the UK, for sales and streams exceeding 200,000 units.
Last year, Harding told DancehallMag that Mahalia’s Simmer was his favorite interpretation of his classic riddim. Playground and Beenie’s Who Am I also inspired Little Simz’s Gorilla (2022), Joyner Lucas’ Zim Zimma (2021), and Krept & Konan’s Freak of the Week (2015).
Mahalia, who was born in the UK to a British-Irish father and a Jamaican mother, released Simmer on her debut LOVE AND COMPROMISE.
The song spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles chart, where it peaked at No. 46.
Its official music video has over 17 million views on YouTube.
The album was released under the American label Asylum Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s her first Gold record in the UK, and it coincides with Mahalia expressing discontent with her recording contract via Twitter. The artist, who signed with Asylum/Warner at just 13 years old, shared her financial frustrations with her followers.
“I have been signed to since I was 13. I’m 25 now which basically means I’ve racked up 12 years of debt,” she tweeted on Friday.
“I have never made a penny off of my own music. 100 million streams with all money made going to my label. This is pretty standard practice in most major label contracts.”
In a subsequent tweet, the singer clarified her statement, adding, “I have to be clear here guys, I am only talking about the master which my label owns. Publishing is another form of revenue for an artist but that’s a whole other side to the industry that I Cba to get into rn.”
Her tweets kick-started a conversation on fair compensation for artists in the streaming era.