Over the 65-year history of the Billboard 100™, a staggering 30,000 songs have made their mark. Among them, a mere 1,162 songs, or 3.8%, have ascended to the coveted No. 1 spot. Achieving the distinction of reaching No. 1 is rare; indeed reggae’s biggest star Bob Marley is yet to earn a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song but Ini Kamoze gave dancehall its first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
Achieving the milestone multiple times is rarer still with only 2 reggae-dancehall artists Shaggy and Sean Paul accomplishing the feat of securing the top position 2 or more times.
Here’s a look at the Jamaican artists who have had singles hit No. 1 on the US BILLBOARD HOT 100™ :
| Carl Douglas
The first Jamaican to hit the US Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 was Carl Douglas in 1974 with “Kung Fu Fighting,” a disco song and the first single from his debut album “Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs.” The song, written by Douglas and produced by Indian producer Biddu with additional production by Suzie Collard and MC Zaza, topped charts in 16 countries globally, selling eleven million records worldwide and receiving a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association Of America.
It is also certified Gold in the UK and is considered one of the best-selling singles of all time.
“Kung Fu Fighting”
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- Artist: Carl Douglas
- Debut Date: 10.12.74
- Peak Position: 1
- Peak Date: 12.07.74
- Weeks on Chart: 18
| Ini Kamoze
Ini Kamoze was the third Jamaican to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the first dancehall artist to do so with the song “Here Comes The Hotstepper (From ‘Ready To Wear’)”
He had done a song produced by Phillip Fattis Burrel titled “Hot This Year/Hot Stepper” in 1990, and with new lyrics penned by and a funkier dancehall bop produced by Salam Remi. It was included in Columbia Record’s “Stir It Up” dancehall album.
The single, released on August 18, 1994, stayed at No. 1 for two weeks in December 1994 after entering the chart on September 17, 1994, and enjoyed a total of 23 weeks before exiting on the week of April 8, 1995.
Reflecting on the collaboration, Remi shared his encounter with Kamoze in 1991, highlighting their musical collaboration from 1992 to 1993. Despite earlier deals not materializing, the breakthrough came in 1994 when “Here Comes The Hotstepper” found its place in the Columbia Records compilation “Stir It Up.” Remi further enhanced the single with a remix using HeartBeat, contributing to its success as a chart-topping hit.
“Here Comes The Hotstepper (From ‘Ready To Wear’)”
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- Artist: Ini Kamoze
- Debut Date: 09.17.94
- Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
- Peak Date: 12.17.94
- Weeks on Chart: 30
| Shaggy
Shaggy was the first Jamaican born artist to hit No. 1 back to back within a month with “It Wasn’t Me” featuring Rik Rock and produced by Sting International peaked in February 3, 2001 for 2 weeks and then “Angel” featuring Rayvon hit the zenith by March 31, 2001.
- “Angel”
- Artist: Shaggy Featuring Rayvon
- Debut Date: 12.30.00
- Peak Position: 1
- Peak Date: 03.31.01
- Weeks on Chart: 28
- “It Wasn’t Me”
- Artist: Shaggy Feat. Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent
- Debut Date: 11.04.00
- Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
- Peak Date: 02.03.01
- Weeks on Chart: 25
| Sean Paul
Sean followed and benefited from the paths cleared by Shaggy for a Jamaican artist to succeed on the chart and he has scored four No. 1s to date.
“Cheap Thrills” Sia featuring Sean Paul
Debut Date: 03.05.16
Peak Position: 1
Peak Date: 08.06.16
Weeks on Chart: 52
“Get Busy”
Artist: Sean Paul
Debut Date: 02.22.03
Peak Position: 1
Peak Date: 05.10.03
Weeks on Chart: 32
“Temperature”
Artist: Sean Paul
Debut Date: 01.21.06
Peak Position: 1
Peak Date: 04.01.06
Weeks on Chart: 31
“Baby Boy”
Artist: Beyonce Featuring Sean Paul
Debut Date: 08.16.03
Peak Position: 1
Peak Date: 10.04.03
Weeks on Chart: 29
| Omi
Omi‘s breakout track “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix),” holds the record as the longest charting No. 1 song by a Jamaican. Produced by Omi and Clifton ‘Specialist’ Dillon, the song was the first solo track by a Jamaica surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify after achieving the No. 1 position in 24 countries, including the U.K., various European regions, and Canada. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for six non-consecutive weeks.
Other songs by artists of Jamaica descent to earn No. 1 who were not born on the island include “Close to You” by Maxi Priest, released in 1990 as the lead single from his album “Bonafide,” achieved significant success, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Notorious B.I.G whose mother is a Jamaican earned two No. 1s “Hypnotize” released March 4, 1997 peaked the week of May 3, 1997 and “Mo Money, Mo Problems” released June 15, 1997 peaked the week of Aug. 30, 1997.
Mims’ who is from a Jamaican family had a breakout single “This Is Why I’m Hot” which moved up from No. 32 to No. 1 the week of March 10, 2007. The song also got a Blackout Remix featuring Baby Cham and Junior Reid.
Pop crooner Sean Kingston who is the grand song son of reggae producer Jack Ruby was born in Miami and raised in Jamaica. He topped the Hot 100 chart in 2007 with “Beautiful Girls” the week of August 11.
