The 16 Shots dancehall star has songs in multiple genres, and speaks multiple languages, but her signature dancehall sound carries through faithfully on every solo and feature. Truth be told she is in a lane of her own as she prepares for her debut album Island 54.
The Hurting Me singer told Anthony Miller of Entertainment Report that she does not want the title of ‘Dancehall Queen’ even if her sales numbers surpass every female and 90% of the males.
“I would not call myself Queen of the Dancehall. Listen, Spice has that title and so be it. She deserves it. She’s been in the game a long time, from when she was young, and she’s still killing it. I’m not the Queen of no Dancehall”
She continued, “I don’t just do Dancehall, I do a lot of other genres. So I do not claim that title at all – even if my numbers are more than anybody else’s.”
The second generation Jamaican dropped a collaboration with Spice titled Clockwork which has surpassed 7.3 million YouTube views. That achievement is light work for the U.K. native whose most viewed music video is the 2018 single ‘Calypo’ with Luis Fonsi which has surpassed 400 million streams.
With other top streaming collaborations with some of the biggest stars in music, no other woman in dancehall music, past or present has as many solo or feature music videos that earn as many views.
Spice’s “Guh Down Deh” featuring Shaggy and Sean Paul has so far earned just over 200 million views.
No dancehall artist has more U.K. music certifications- The “Boasty” rapper/deejay has a total of 10 U.K. certifications, which is also the most for any female Jamaican or descendant of Jamaicans. In the US, she has a 6x Latin Platinum certification by the RIAA(360,000), for her collaboration single Bum Bum Tam Tam with Mc Fioti, Future, J Balvin, and Juan Magan. The song is also Diamond in France (250,000) and Platinum in Spain (40,000).
The 31 year old’s breakout single “Hurting Me” featuring French Montana peaked at number 7 on the U.K. singles chart and in “Instruction” with Jax Jones featuring Demi Lovato peaked at no. 3 in the U.K. Dance chart.
Other successes for the Stefflon Don, real name Stephanie Allen may be observed in her business dealings. She is the first woman in dancehall to own her masters and get a label deal with Universal.
She won a Mobo and NME Award for bets New Artist in 2017 and was nominated for a BET award in 2018 for Best International Act.
She might not want to be the Queen of Dancehall but she is definitely the blueprint of how to make it internationally doing dancehall music in the streaming era.
BMG, the label that owns the catalogue for the original Trojan Records UK which has a roster of Jamaican artists who ruled U.K. music in the 60s just signed a deal with Britians’ biggest dancehall.
The partnership delayed Stefflon’s debut album originally scheduled for release August 2021, then pushed to September 2022, and is now scheduled for later this year. BMG will oversee the release of the album.
Stefflon Don said: “I’m excited about partnering with BMG because they trust my creativity. They have an amazing support team across the globe, and I am super excited to expand my fan base alongside my new family BMG.”
Tim Reid, BMG’s SVP, repertoire & marketing, said: “Stefflon Don is a unique artist who has already accomplished so much on a global scale, collaborating with some of the biggest names in music while gaining equal acclaim on her solo projects. We are incredibly excited to partner with her on the next chapter of her musical career.”
Thomas Scherer, BMG’s president, repertoire & marketing, Los Angeles and New York, said: “Stefflon Don is an artist who knows exactly what she wants to achieve, and we are happy to be part of her journey towards this. Our partnership expands on a string of recent BMG signings with artists who desire more control of their music with our global team fully supporting them in exceeding their goals.”
The upcoming full-length debut studio album follows her critically acclaimed and U.K. Official Charting mixtapes “Real Ting” and “Secure.”
Although signed out of BMG’s LA office, Stefflon Don’s home territory of the UK will be a key priority.
London-based VP for BMG international Terry Felgate said: “Building on the breakthrough success we had with KSI in the UK – also signed out of BMG LA – we are very excited about working with Stefflon Don and supporting her in delivering her creative vision.”
