Byron Messia’s Summer Hit Surges To No. 12 On UK Chart After Burna Boy Remix

Byron Messia’s summer hit Talibans has jumped seventeen places to No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart—thanks, in part, to a new remix with Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy.

Born in Jamaica and raised in St. Kitts, Messia has been basking in the success of the “badman” anthem, which has now held a position on the UK chart for a commendable nine weeks. The track, released on January 20, initially made its debut at a modest No. 67 on the chart dated June 8, subsequently climbing to No. 29 in the listing released last Friday.

The reimagined version with Burna Boy was unveiled to the public on July 20, igniting even greater interest in the song’s fusion of Dancehall lyrics and cadence and an Afrobeats instrumental.  The accompanying music video, which featured both artists, has picked up over 3 million views on YouTube since its release.

Should Talibans manage to break into the top ten in the coming weeks, it will be the first Jamaican-led track to achieve such heights since Stefflon Don and French Montana’s Hurtin Me, which peaked at an impressive No. 7 back in October 2017 and enjoyed a 27-week run on the UK Chart.

Sean Paul and Dua Lipa’s No Lie had peaked at No. 10 in May 2017, maintaining its popularity for 30 weeks, while OMI’s Cheerleader (Remix) held the No. 1 position for four weeks in May 2015. Cheerleader remained on the chart for a staggering 64 weeks.

The UK Chart’s current top ten includes Sprinter by Dave and Central Cee, Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo, Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album) by Dua Lipa, and Barbie World (From Barbie The Album) by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, and Aqua, at positions 1 to 5, respectively.

Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift, (It Goes Like) Nanana by Peggy Goo, Fukumean by Gunna, Who Told You by J Hus and Drake, 0800 Heaven by Dawe, Corry and Henderson are currently at positions 6 to 10, respectively.

In the meantime, there’s been much debate about whether Talibans should be classified as a Dancehall or Afrobeats track, but according to Messia, it doesn’t matter.

“This fighting thing for umm genre of music, that’s not me,” he told SK Vibemaker on ‘My Interviews Are Hotter’ last week.  “It doesn’t matter.  I don’t really care what genre I do.  I just want to do great music and make the fans them enjoy themselves.”

Urging for a collective appreciation of the music without getting bogged down in divisive categorizations, he added: “We all need to sit back for a while and stop making unnecessary noise. Let we just enjoy the music.” 

Talibans was produced by beatmaker EJ Fya and Prince Swanny’s Ztekk Records.

It appeared on Messia’s No Love album, which is currently at No. 9 on the US Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

The song is also currently at No. 36 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, No. 16 on the Rap Airplay chart, No. 29 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, and No. 33 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart.