The most streamed reggae acts for 2023 is Bob Marley & The Wailers according to Spotify in an announcement made on Friday, December 15, via data shared exclusively shared with WMV. The information shows that the legendary reggae icon takes the top spot for three years in a row. Marley’s top song on the platform is “Three Little Birds,” which has surpassed 860 million streams, followed by “Could You Be Loved” at No. 2 (773 million) and “Is This Love” at No. 3 (670 million). “Jamming” holds the No. 4 spot with 469 million streams, and “Buffalo Soldier” is at No. 5 with 436 million.
The medley “One Love / People Get Ready” claims the No. 6 spot with 433 million streams, “Redemption Song” takes No. 7 with 319 million streams, and the live version of “No Woman, No Cry” at the Lyceum has 289 million plays. “Waiting In Vain” secures the No. 8 spot with 254 million plays, and “Stir It Up” completes Marley’s top ten list with 172,837,811 plays.
In August Marley’s label released the Afrobeats collaborative album “Africa Unite” featuring the remix of “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)” with Rema & Skip Marley. The song which is the fourth single from the album debuted at No. 30 on the US Billboard Afrobeats Chart as of August 19, 2023. It is the first entry on the chart for both Bob and Skip Marley.
Although the ten-track project, did not secure a spot on this week’s US Billboard Reggae Albums Chart after earning 1000 equivalent units in streams and sales, Marley still manage to top Billboard’s Year-End Artist Albums chart for 2023 on the strength of “Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers” compilation album which is Billboard’s No. 1 Reggae album for the fourth year in a row.
Taking the No. 2 spot on Spotify’s most streamed reggae act for 2023 is Damian Marley (up from No. 3). The self-proclaimed youngest veteran has a total of 1.6 billion streams on Spotify across all credits. He released a few new tracks this year, such as “My Sweet Lord,” along with a feature on his brother Stephen Marley’s album “Old Soul” and, more recently, the “Run” Remix with Killer Mike. However, his top streaming song on Spotify is “Make It Bun Dem” with Skrillex surpassing 277 million streams.
Damian’s magnum Opus album “Welcome To Jamrock” re-entered the Billboard Reggae albums chart several times this year and has sold 1.2 million units in streams on sales in the US over its lifetime according to data provided WMV by Luminate. The album has sold 900,000 copies and has earned 400 million in On-demand streams in the US as of October 2023.
Virginia based band SOJA moves up at No. 3 after being at No. 5 two years in a row. Inner Circle at No. 4(up from 7), Jimmy Cliff at No. 5 (up from 6), Ini Kamoze, Barrington Levy and Stephen Marley make their debut on the top ten SpotifyWrapped at No. 6, , 9 and 10. Protoje makes a return at No. 7 after being missing from the list last year and the Wailers is at No. 8 (up from 9 last year.)
Missing from this year’s list compared to last year are UB40, Chronixx, and Ziggy Marley who were at No. 2, 7 and 10.
Editors Note: Notably absent from Spotify’s top reggae artists list each year are Stick top selling reggae acts Figure, J Boog and Collie Buddz.
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Most streamed reggae artists on Spotify 2023
