DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic Reggae-Dancehall celebration last Saturday has given the old school reggae-dancehall songs that were part of the karaoke session a boost on the Itunes chart. They have now found their way in the reggae top 40 on the iTunes digital chart thanks to the reach of cable network TV station, BET.
Leading the pack of re-emerging chart toppers are Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze(1995) at number 1 and Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam( 1982) at number 2. Both songs were already in the top ten before Saturday night’s performance with Bam Bam featured in the Netflix series Ozark, while Hotstepper is a new TikTok trend and entered the Billboard Digital Songs Chart.
Murder She Wrote by Shakka Demus and Pliers(1992) featuring Sly and Robbie climbs to number 8 and Red Red Wine by UB40 (1983) at number 9.
Turn Me On by Kevin Little(2003) is at number 12 and Close To You by Maxi Priest (1990) is at number 16.
Action by Nadine Sutherland, Terror Fabulous(1993) makes a comeback at number 22.
While Eveyone Falls In Love by Tanto Metro and Devonte (1998) is at 23 and One Blood (1990) by Junior Reid at 24.
Here I Come by Barrington Levy (2001) gets another boost to land at 29 after it recently peaked at number 5 when a redo for the Harder They Fall movie soundtrack was released late last year.
Supercat’s Billboard crossover track Ghetto Red Hot (1992) is currently at number 37, and Pass The Dutchie by Musical Youth (Dennis Seaton), inches outside the top 40 to land at 43.
Pass The Mic was aired right after the NAACP image Awards which has seen an increase in viewership over the last two years.
In commenting on the time slot and network ratings chase BET CEO Scott Mills said, “We find that we can deliver a big audience to the Image Awards for the show that it is and that the audience really shows up for that experience,” he says.
The Reggae-Dancehall style celebration fits right into BET’s ongoing efforts to showcase different forms of black culture. Mills added that BET isn’t thinking purely in terms of ratings for the broadcast, because that isn’t the point: “Black excellence” is.
