The band Magic!, hailing from Totonto, Canada, brought reggae into the Billboard Hot 100’s number one spot with the reggae infused single “Rude”. I’m not one who usually can predict hit pop singles these days but, I have to say that the first time I heard it I knew this would be BIG! The song fuses contemporary reggae with dancehall and is certainly reminiscent of The Police. Congratulations to the band!
Sean Paul and Enrique Igleslas’ song “Bailando” is a Latin song with Sean’s reggae style vocals. It was very smart for these two artists to collaborate and bring together the Latin and reggae audiences. “Bailando” is also topping charts all over the world.
SOJA, the American reggae band from Virginia, currently has the number one reggae album on iTunes. “Amid The Noise and Haste” was produced by GRAMMY award winning Jamaican producer Supa Dups (Bruno Mars, Eminem, Rihanna, John Legend). The album includes collaborations with Michael Franti and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley.
Other reggae albums released recently worth noting are Rebelution’s “Count Me In” and and Ziggy Marley’s “Fly Rasta”. Both albums include collaborations. “Count Me In” has songs featuring Collie Buddz and Don Carlos and “Fly Rasta” features U-Roy, Beezy Coleman and Cedella Marley.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/punky-reggae-party/id542683344