The album released March 25, has so far clocked 223,000 album equivalent units(with SEA, and with TEA).This includes pure album sales of 1,600 (equalling total on-demand streams (audio + video) of 340 million.) Compared to Afrobeats where the highest selling album released this year “Love, Damini” by Burna Boy sold Gold in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
- Complement and Collaborate With More Afrobeats Artists:
Shenseea expressed interest in transitioning from Dancehall to Pop music, leading to criticism from many, including Sean Paul and veteran DJs Alrick & Boyd, who advised her to stay true to her roots. Despite this, Shenseea has successfully joined the Afrobeats wagon with her Dancehall style, as she is featured on the song Diana with Fireboy DML and Chris Brown which debuted at No. 17 on the U.S. Billboard Afrobeats chart in August 2022. She was the second Jamaican to achieve this feat, after Burna Boy collaborated with Popcaan for the Toni-Ann Singh which peaked at No. 12 a month prior.
The Interscope Records artist’s next Afrobeats single Slip N Slide in collaboration with WizKid and Skillibeng, took her back to the top 20 debut on the U.S. Afrobeats chart when it debuted at No. 19 in November.
2. Incorporate elements of storytelling:
Afrobeats music has a clear narrative and often speaks to very specific issues in a sequential form that is easy to follow. Dancehall artists can use this as an inspiration to tell stories through their own songs. Additionally In the 1990s dancehall artists made successful concept albums and created characters to carry the albums such as Mr. Mention by Buju Banton, Don Dada by Super Cat and Mr. Boombastic by Shaggy. Shabba Ranks’ “Bed Room Bully” and “Mr. Loverman” characters are legendary monikers to this day. Instead of stringing a couple singles together to make an album modern dancehall artists should incorporate more elements of story telling for the singles and albums. Afrobeats albums have clear concepts, and clear themes which are elements of good story telling. Burna Boy’s “Last Last” is a story of love lost and the narrative is further elevated every time there are speculations on who the song is about. The proof that a good story works for a song is in Google’s Year in Search for 2022, “Last Last” was the 10th ‘most searched song’ of the year.
3. Incorporate samples from different genres, such as R&B and Latin music, into dancehall music.
Shaggy
Shaggy told WMV in a YouTube interview that many of his hits of the 90s such as Oh Carolina, Boombastic, It Wasn’t Me etc. used samples. This has implications on how much he will get for his catalogue rights but at the time he says it was a deliberate attempt to get a foot into the mainstream music industry.
Burna Boy also told Gillie and Wallo of Million Dollars Worth Of Game Podcast that he pays 60% of the publishing to Braxton but it was worth it.
“I just wanted to use that sample, and I knew Chopstix(Producer) could do sumn crazy with it, so yeah, I just pointed that shit out and just take it from there , that’s one of the special creative processes ever,” he explained.
“But she is taking sixty percent of the shit,” he says with a huge grin. With the huge sample fee, he hopes Toni Braxton will join him on tour.
“He Wasn’t Man Enough” was the lead single for Braxton’s third studio album, The Heat (2000), written by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, and Harvey Mason, Jr. The song was released by LaFace Records on February 29, 2000. “Last Last” gave Burna Boy his first top 20 UK Singles Chart hit. The global smash hit co-written by producers Off & Out (brothers Mikael and Samuel Haataja), Chopstix, MdS, and Ruuben. In addition to the North American and U.K. certifications, It has also picked up Gold certifications in France (100,000) and New Zealand (15000).
4. Embrace social media:
Afrobeats music has been able to reach a global audience thanks to the power of social media. The artist curate tens of millions of followers consisting of both their core audiences in their home country plus fans all over the world. Dancehall artists should take advantage of this and use social media to promote their music and connect with their fans. However using social media is more than posting an image and saying “link in bio”. Artist should consider it as marketing tool to engage fans, distribute information and curate a cult following similar to the “fan club” of yesteryear. Burna Boy’s Love, Damini Kingston concert sold 30 percent of the tickets before one ad was placed on the radio. After WMV first made the announcement persons headed to the website to purchase tickets. As technology takes hold of the music industry, the artist who will succeed most are the ones with an outstanding digital awareness and who know how to navigate trends and still remain timeless.
5. Use catchy melodies:
Afrobeats music often features catchy melodies and hooks that make it easy to remember even if you do not understand the language they are singing. Dancehall is said to have this language barrier but artists should use this as an inspiration to create memorable songs with catchy hooks.
© 2022 World Music Views® All Rights Reserved. “World Music Views®” and “WMV®” are trademarks of Think Ed Ltd. WMV® and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the World Music Views® Editorial Code Of Practice.
