Main points:
- Afrobeats is currently dominating the music scene, making it challenging for dancehall artists to compete.
- Kranium discusses the shift in the music industry towards a “numbers era,” where streaming statistics and digital metrics hold significant importance in getting radio play and chart success.
- His decision to collaborate with African artists like Stonebwoy, Kizz Daniel, Mr. Eazi, and others is motivated by his recognition of the rising influence of Afrobeats.
- Kranium criticizes the lack of promotion and effort from some artists and labels in pushing their songs beyond their initial success, which he believes hinders the growth of the dancehall and reggae genres.
- Kranium highlights the importance of selecting appropriate venues for performances, particularly in the United States, to ensure an artist’s data can be verified and to make a lasting impact in the music industry.
Dancehall singer Kranium says there is no competing with Afrobeats right now for dancehall artists. Speaking in an interview on The Cut with Wayne Marshall and Winford Williams on CVM TV, the “Nobody Has To Know” singer refers to the perceived competition between the genres as a myth. “I think it’s a myth; you can’t compare; there is no comparison from my understanding,” he said. “Afrobeats is creating their golden era. They are stamping their feet, just like when dancehall was fresh on the scene. Now they are having their moment because they are new and fresh to the people,” he continued.
Kranium’s “Gal Policy” was recently certified Silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), for selling over 200,000 units. The song has a remix featuring Nigerian star Tiwa Savage.
He has also collaborated with other Africans like Stonebwoy, Kizz Daniel, Mr. Ezi and more. A move that was triggered by observations Afrobeats was coming to take over.
“The game has changed; when it comes to getting on the radio, it’s not like you just voice a song and it gets on the radio. We are moving into an era called the numbers era. Now it’s different; now a man is going to ask how many streams it has, what it’s doing on Shazam, Spotify, Apple Music. Not because your song is big, it’s going to go on pop radio. 90% of the time, they’re going to look at the numbers that are bigger, and if you think about the number of people in Africa who stream for their artists,” he added.
Kranium also made reference to the lack of impresarios who will take a record from the studio or the streets and work it on the radio and the charts.
“Then when the songs drop, who brings the songs to work the record? Most artists don’t work any record. The song blows up, and they just move away from it” he stated.
“No label move until a record is moving.A label is one there to back you. A man half work the song. Nuff artist get big song and the man Dem come a New York or Atlanta and Dem Innah them hotel room, them don’t want to go rub shoulders. There a lotta hit songs come outa Jamaica on a daily basis, but it’s just that the man dem don’t want to take it further than weh it deh,” he assessed.
Although Reggae is the 10th most listened-to genre of music worldwide, according to the IFPI, its dominance in the US market, along with dancehall, has diminished as several new and established artists from Jamaica, including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Cham, and Buju Banton, have released albums/EPs that have not made the weekly Billboard charts. Kranium says one of the mistakes artist make, himself included is not being selective in where they choose to perform when they come to the states.
“You see the $5000 difference goes further than some may think. You have men who are hot, have the movement, but when they come to do a show in the state, they go to a Banquet Hall, and they don’t understand how that affects them,” Kranium stated.
Born Kemar Donaldson, the Jamaican immigrant said artists must try to connect with bigger venues like Live Nation so their data can be properly verified. “You have people who don’t realize that this man is selling 2000 tickets, so when the festivals come around for you to represent your culture on these festivals, how can you tell somebody that you’re pulling 2000 people when they don’t know about it? There are certain environments that, once people type it in and see it’s in a Banquet Hall, they don’t have time for that. So when the artists have to understand that when you come to certain markets, you have to do proper venues that are actually in the system.”
“Whether it’s Live Nation who is collecting this data to say, when we pitch an artist, we can say this guy is selling 750 tickets on a Thursday night. Managers have to understand that artists must be in proper venues,” he concluded on the subject.
