By Kevin Jackson—
Maxi Priest and Shaggy—–
VETERAN artists are outselling their younger counterparts on the Billboard Digital Reggae Singles chart. The latest edition shows songs by Bob Marley, Shabba Ranks, Shaggy, UB40, Inner Circle, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Gregory Isaacs, Marcia Griffiths, Peter Tosh, Maxi Priest and Sister Nancy registering brisk sales, years after they were first released.
Digital singles were first introduced in 2005. The current figures are a tabulation since that introduction.
Marley and his band the Wailers lead the Billboard Digital Reggae Singles Top 100 with 14 entries. These include Three Little Birds (1,803,770 copies to date), Is This Love (1,002,874 copies), No Woman Nuh Cry (970,155 copies) and One Love (925,974 copies).
Last week, Three Little Birds sold 3,094 copies and currently holds the number two spot on the chart.
Make it Bun Dem, a collaboration between American mix master Skrillex and Damian Marley, is the best of the young turks. Released in 2012, it has sold 501,587 copies and currently occupies the number three spot.
Shaggy has the number one selling digital single with the 2000 cheater’s anthem, It Wasn’t Me, which features Ricardo ‘Rik Rok’ Ducent.
The single sold 3,851 copies in the past week to bring its total to 1,466,443 copies.
Shaggy has four other singles in the Digital Sales chart: Angel with Rayvon at number four (1,192,628 copies), 1995’s Boombastic (326,208 copies), Luv Me Luv Me (213,991 copies), and You Girl (featuring R&B singer Ne-Yo) which is at number 86 with sales of 15,118 copies since its release last year.
British reggae band UB40 also has four entries. Their 1993 hit, Can’t Help Falling in Love has sold 454,364 copies; the 1980s hit Red Red Wine has clocked 1,294,949 copies to date; the 1991 hit The Way You Do the Things You Do has moved 231,670 copies; and Here I Am has sold 173,036 copies.
Sean Paul registers the biggest sales numbers for a contemporary dancehall act.
Temperature is at number 11, selling 1,282 copies over the past week. To date, the single has sold 2,630,665 copies digitally. Temperature was released commercially in 2006.
Sean Paul’s other entries include Get Busy (795,000 copies), She Doesn’t Mind (321,000 copies), Give it Up to Me (854,000 copies), Break It Off (635,000 copies), and We Be Burnin (1,004,000 copies).
Inner Circle, who enjoyed mainstream success in the early 1990s with Bad Boys and Sweat, are also enjoying digital success. Bad Boys is at number 28 for sales of 320,000 copies, with Sweat at 31 with 198,150 copies.
Other veterans charting include Sister Nancy with Bam Bam (released in the early 1980s; has now sold 147,435 copies); Shabba Ranks’ Mr Lover Man (1992, 94,648 copies); Wayne Wonder’s 2002 hit No Letting Go (242,608 copies); Johnny Nash’s 1970s hit I Can See Clearly Now (351,092 copies); Chaka Demus and Pliers’ 1992 hit Murder She Wrote (283,266 copies); Gregory Isaacs’ Night Nurse (1982, 117,752 copies); Marcia Griffiths’ ’80s hit Electric Boogie (185,689 copies); Peter Tosh’s Legalize It (1976, 104,816 copies); Maxi Priest’s 1992 hit Close To You (156,746 copies) and Musical Youth’s Pass the Dutchie (1982, 237,884 copies).
The best-selling contemporary dancehall/reggae acts and songs released within the past year include Tarrus Riley’s Dem a Watch (number 50 with 433 copies); Major Lazer’s Watch
Out Fi Dis (featuring Busy Signal holds number 17 with 52,271 copies); Give it All to Me by Mavado featuring Nicki Minaj (21,612 copies); Ashtrays and Heartbreaks by Snoop Lion featuring Miley Cyrus (69,281 copies); and Want Dem All by Sean Paul and Konshens (number 20 with 7,661 copies).
You must log in to post a comment.