Shenseea and Koffee Secure the Best-Selling Dancehall and Reggae Albums in the US for 2022

January 4, 2023

Reggae’s young queen Koffee and dancehall princess Shenseea have both secured places on the best-selling list for 2022, with their albums Gifted and Alpha claiming the top spots for best-selling reggae and dancehall albums, respectively, in the US.

According to World Music Views (WMV), Alpha, Shenseea’s debut album, sold 60,000 units and was also the most streamed project by a dancehall artist in America. The 14-track project was released in March through music producer Rvssian’s label, Rich Immigrants, and Interscope Records.

Shenseea collaborated with several artistes for the project, including dancehall veterans Beenie Man and Sean Paul. The album also featured appearances by American rappers Megan Thee Stallion and 21 Savage on the tracks Lick and R U That, respectively.

Her single Blessed, which features Tyga, was a huge success not only locally but internationally, and it was certified gold in Canada after selling 40,000 units in the country. The singer’s co-manager, Romeich Major, of Romeich Entertainment Ltd., lauded the artiste’s success on his Instagram page, resharing WMV’s post and expressing how proud he felt to work with her.

“When you don’t do good, they talk. When you do great, they bark. So guess what just do the best of your ability and just keep working! Proud to not only manage such a great artist but proud that me and my team was apart of this album,” Romeich wrote.

Also excelling in 2022 was Rapture singer Koffee, whose Gifted album sold 223,000 units in the US. The project’s successful release earned the musician her second Best Reggae Album Grammy nomination after she became the first woman and youngest winner of the award in 2020. The 22-year-old was nominated alongside Protoje, Kabaka Pyramid, Sean Paul, and Shaggy for this year’s staging of the award show.

Gifted was released in March via Promised Land Recordings and featured Koffee’s singles West Indies and Lockdown. The album’s Track Pull Up was featured on former United States president Barack Obama’s favourite songs of 2022 list.