This list of Dancehall artistes shows the top names names that have managed to capture headlines and secure the praise of fans with their music as well as their persona in the year of 2024 locally.
Some notably absent names include Spice, Jada Kingdom, Valiant, Armanii, RajahWild, Skippa and Alkaline, all of whom have made an impact in the year but others did better, based on our research.
This top-six list was curated by Yardhype and is in no specific order. The Artistes were determine based on YouTube and Spotify numbers, plus their ability to grab headlines throughout the year, even if it was not because of music.
1. Kraff
Born Tevin Randal, the St. Ann native has become a prominent deejay in Dancehall’s crop of young artistes engaging audiences with their trap Dancehall and gothic persona spin on the Jamaican music scene. After a successful 2023 with hit singles such as Ruff C, Nursery Rhymes, and Rum Behaviour, Kraff followed with hit releases in 2024 including Sum Time, Infidel, 100 Watt, and Ikation.
Currently, he is #9 on YouTube’s Top Artistes in Jamaica Chart for December 2023 to December 2024 with 49.2 million local views. His track Rum Behaviour sits at #12 on YouTube’s Top Songs Chart for Jamaica this year with 5.59 million views from the island, out of a total of 27 million worldwide views.
Additionally, Kraff has 419,808 monthly listeners on Spotify.
While the artiste had a lot of high points in 2024, he also experienced lows, with footage of him being detained by police in April quickly going viral. He was arrested and charged with a traffic violation and disorderly conduct.
2. Shenseea
Following a not-so-well-received explorational period in her music, Shenseea returned for the most part to her Dancehall roots. After a viewership slump at the end of 2023 on YouTube, she returned with Hit & Run featuring Masicka on January 26.
The success of Hit & Run saw the singer experiencing a viewership spike and began the promotional run of her second studio album, Never Gets Late Here. Following her album release in May, Shenseea released Dating Szn song in September.
While the track was well received, like Hit & Run, it stirred some controversy for promoting promiscuity. Nonetheless, 2024 was a standout year for Shenseea, who received her first Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.
In regards to her viewership, the artiste achieved 306 million views globally over the past year on YouTube, her top song this year which is Hit & Run has 105 million views on the platform.
Shenseea has also amassed over 5.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
3. Masicka
Masicka kicked off 2024 on a career-high, thanks to his well-received album Generation of Kings as well as his deal with New York-based recording label Def Jam. One of the most consistent Jamaican artistes currently making music, the deejay is seldom excluded from any Dancehall list.
With tracks from his album such as Most Wanted and Stars R Us receiving high praise from fans, Masicka would follow those releases with tracks like 20 Matic and Whites. Masicka is ranked #2 on YouTube’s Top Artistes Chart for Jamaica with 80.8 million views.
His collaborative track with Shenseea, Hit & Run, is #2 on YouTube’s Top Songs Chart for Jamaica.
Additionally, Masicka amassed 220 million views globally over the past year on YouTube and currently has over 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
4. Squash
Squash’s supremacy in 2024 may arguably be the biggest comeback for the year. While the artiste was not necessarily experiencing a career slump, a seemingly self-imposed hiatus saw his relevancy reduced.
However, the hit track Big Breeze quickly changed that for the deejay, and he proudly declared his return to the forefront of Dancehall with the single. Big Breeze sits at #6 on YouTube’s Top Songs Chart for Jamaica over the past 12 months, while the deejay is ranked #4 on YouTube’s Top Artistes Chart.
In regards to his global viewership, Squash has amassed 143 million views globally over the past year on YouTube, his top song being Big Breeze with 21 million views. Furthermore, the deejay has an average of 321,508 monthly listeners on Spotify.
5. Vybz Kartel
While many were not sure if Kartel could regain his popularity in Dancehall’s new era of young Trap Dancehall artistes, the deejay has proven his naysayers wrong. While some Dancehall artistes continue to struggle for global attention and accolades, 2024 saw Kartel grabbing both local and international headlines.
Kartel also secured a coveted Grammy nomination, with his album Party With Me nominated in the Best Reggae Album category for the 67th Grammy Awards. Currently ranked #3 on YouTube’s Top Artistes in Jamaica with 71.4 million views this year from the island, Kartel’s certified gold track Fever remains his top song on the platform.
Additionally, Kartel has amassed 453 million views globally over the past year on YouTube and over 2.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
6. Chronic law
Eastern Jamaica deejay Chronic Law whose real name is Akeeme Campbell is the leader of his generation locally, born on December 17, 1993, the Law Boss is currently the number one streamed artiste in Jamaica over the past year.
The St. Thomas native has over 342 million global views on YouTube, over the past year. His collaboration with Kranium titled ‘Higher Life’ is the number one streamed song in Jamaica for December 2024 on the platform.
Chronic Law has an average of 340,405 monthly listeners on Spotify.
