Dancehall artist Masicka who just signed a recording contract with Def Jam after negotiating the deal for more than a year says he would like to collaborate with British singer Adele.
In a conversation on Amazon Music thread Twitch discussing his journey to signing with the major label, he was joined by with Beenie Man, Jacquez Morel and Ricky Blaze who asked the DJ who would he like to collaborate with outside of dancehall and Masicka said, “probably Adele, yeah me really love Adele, me like every Adele.”
While Adele who is signed to Columbia Records is not known for her collaborations, Masicka says he loves her humility and ease at which she approach the music. “Vocally Adele is beyond her time, just how she modest and its not even like she a try, she a sell music.”
Adele released her last album ’30’ in November 2021 with 12 tear jerking ballads about her struggling love life. As far as putting together an album is concerned it is a perfect ten.
After debuting at number one on the global iTunes chart, the lead single for the album Easy On Me became the biggest debut for any song on the Radio Songs chart in the US since it became an all-format ranking in 1998 at number 4. It surpasses Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” which previously debuted at number 6.
After selling 74 thousand units, ‘Easy On Me’ landed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart according to MRC Data in its first week of release.
Masicka says he too wants to focus on making music only and talks about his latest song Tyrant which is No. 1 in Jamaica for a third week he says, “A just an appreciation for the ones dem before me, both artists, dancers, sound man, me just love the music, a the music me love, a it alone me was see, it alone me was do, music yah man”.
Masicka’s independent debut album 438, released December 3, 2021 is the most streamed album by a male dancehall artist in the U.S. that was released over a 12 month period 2021-2022 according to data provided to World Music Views by Billboard sales tracker Luminate.
The independent project earned 32,600 equivalent album units (SEA,TEA) in the US within a year. Of that sum, pure album sales in the US were 1,200 (together equaling total on-demand streams (audio + video) over its lifetime of 48.8 million).
With no major label backing for 438, Masicka was quickly sought after by major U.S. record companies according to sources close to the matter from the label.
The 16-track debut project was released independently through Genasyde/1Syde Records and features collaborations with Stefflon Don, Popcaan, Dexta Daps and Sean Paul.
Upon its release 438 moved 5,164 equivalent album units from sales and streaming in the United States during its first three weeks in December 2021.
This included 2,864 units (733 copies) sold during the first week of release. His first week total consumption also included 400 in song sales, 2,781,700 from on-demand audio streams, and 123,400 from on-demand video streams according to WMV’s Luminate correspondence.
438 debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and spent a total of 7 weeks on the chart, an achievement surpassed only by top streaming artists Shenseea and Koffee (30 weeks), among recent albums by Jamaicans.
The album streamed in the top 10 on the Jamaica Apple music chart for an entire year since its release.
Other dancehall artists such as Spice, Sean Paul, Vybz Kartel, and Usain Bolt, only spent one week on the sales and streaming-driven chart with their latest albums.
For greater context, legendary reggae-dancehall artist Buju Banton’s last album Upside Down 2020 released by Island Records and Roc Nation in June 2020 has so far earned 53,000 album sales equivalent units with SEA, with TEA according to data provided to WMV by Luminate. Of that amount 11,000 units were pure album sales equalling 62 million total on-demand streams (audio + video).
Upside Down 2020 had debut in its first week at number 2 on the Reggae Billboard Chart after combined streaming and sales of over 2900 units, according to Nielsen/MRC Data.
His forthcoming album on Def Jam he says is complete and will be better than 438. “Same thing weh we always a come with good music, we have a studio full a music. In truth we have an album, a finish project, done and complete, the fans them can look out for that. I can tell you she its far better than 438 and this a sum wet the fans them can look out for,” he stated.
