Shatta Wale is first African to headline a Jamaican reggae-dancehall project Album
The Tropical House Cruises To Jamaica album which has been in the making for a few months is scheduled to drop in a few days according to the executive producer Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards.
Produced by a collective that includes Contractor Music Group, Golden Child Records, Beatbopper Records, and Kohanim Records, the project is titled Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica: The Reggae Collector’s Edition.
Twenty-five tracks on the album features Capleton, Sizzla, Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Elephant Man, Don Yute, Mojo Morgan, Wayne Wonder, Singing Melody, Peetah Morgan, Tommy Lee Sparta, Skillibeng, Voicemail, Royce Da59 and others.
Speaking exclusively with DancehallMag, Edwards says that choosing Wale as the headliner is a first in history as he is the first African act to headline a Jamaican reggae-dancehall project.
He said that negotiations began with Akon but broke down at some point which led to Wale being selected. “The vibes were good but negotiations broke down as they do in music business and so we decided to make Shatta Wale as the headliner since Beyonce used him last year on her Lion King album.” He noted that Wale was trendy among the younger age groups and he had what he termed a “cult following”, which is what they need for entry into the African market.
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The concept of the album is to promote reggae music on the African Continent in an effort to broaden the market for the genre. Edwards notes that reggae album sales are down in the United States which is the largest market presently. However, a growing love for dancehall, reggae and Jamaican culture on the African continent has created the right conditions for entering the African market. The love and popularity of dancehall which is a Jamaican-born genre of music attests to this.
Edwards says careful research has shown that everyone has a mobile phone and internet access which will allow them to purchase music. “The plan is to capitalize on the ‘bootleg culture’ by changing that from less bootlegging into more purchasing and streaming.”
The plan is to target Ghana which has about 30 million people, neighboring Nigeria and from there other countries which are influenced by Ghana and Nigerian music and culture.
Meanwhile, Edwards says the possibilities are endless for the album. “There are one billion people in the continent of Africa. We can bring Capleton, Sizzla and Shatta Wale on tour. I’d like to do a first class tour.”
Much anticipation is building on the drop of the album which at first staging two years ago recorded huge success in the United States. It featured big names like Ed Sheeran, Damian and Stephen Marley, Wyclef Jean, Chronixx, Scratch Perry, Mojo Morgan, Sean Kingston, Kartel, Safari, and others.
The album spent nine weeks on Billboard’s Top 10 and four weeks at number one (1). It was also the number seven (7) album of the year for reggae music that year.
Source: Devi Seitaram
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
