Alkaline is the most played local artiste overall on Spotify Jamaica, and Shenseea is the most played female artiste. Bob Marley remains the biggest artiste internationally.
As streaming platform Spotify celebrates its first anniversary since launching in Jamaica, the platform has revealed some interesting data on its listening trends on the island. While dancehall remains the dominant genre on the over 370,000 playlists that have already been created by users in the last year, some emerging genres are also being explored.
First of all, according to Spotify’s data, it seems that Vybz Kartel has been dethroned as the most played local artist, as their stats showed that Alkaline is now No. 1 in terms of listenership. Skillibeng is also in the top 5, and surprisingly, Popcaan isn’t.
However, the data does not show how many streams were attributed to each artist. It should also be noted that since Spotify is relatively new, YouTube stats are still the way to go to get a better appreciation of what Jamaicans are listening to.
Some of the typical, internationally recognized names also feature on the various playlists. A few notable names include Bob Marley, Grammy winner Sean Paul, Masicka, and Spice. Other genres analyzed from Spotify’s data included reggae fusion, lovers’ rock, and old-school dancehall.
Internationally Bob Marley is the most streamed artist, and according to the data, Shenseea was the most listened to Jamaican female artist on Spotify in the last year. Jada Kingdom is second on that list, while Spice is third.
Spotify also shared data with Urban Islandz on how Jamaicans name their playlists, with some of the more popular names being simple, as they used things like “dancehall,” “vibe,” “love,” and “gospel.”
Skengs‘ Gvnman Shift topped the Most played local songs list. Also on that list were rising stars Countree Hype and Intence’s Yahoo Boyz.
See below Spotify Jamaica most played artistes and songs over the past 12 months.
Most played local artistes
1. Alkaline
2. Vybz Kartel
3. Masicka
4. Skillibeng
5. Intence
6. Popcaan
7. Skeng
8. Dexta Daps
9. Chronic Law
10. Squash
Most played local songs
1. Gvnman Shift – Skeng
2. Yahoo Boyz – Countree Hype, Intence
3. Protocol – Skeng, Tommy Lee Sparta
4. Alkaline – Hostage
5. Roll Deep – 10Tik
6. Street Cred – Skeng
7. Crocodile Teeth – Skillibeng
8. Go Down Deh – Spice (feat. Shaggy and Sean Paul)
9. Ocean Wave – Alkaline
10. I Wish – Masicka
Most played Jamaican artistes outside of Jamaica
1. Bob Marley and The Wailers
2. Sean Paul
3. Rvssian
4. Popcaan
5. OMI
6. Vybz Kartel
7. Damian Marley
8. Beenie Man
9. Charly Black
10. Chronixx
Most played female artistes in Jamaica
1. Shenseea
2. Jada Kingdom
3. Spice
4. Koffee
5. Alicia Spence
6. Lila Iké
7. Stalk Ashley
8. Moyann
