Alkaline’s ‘Top Prize’ off to impressive debut    

If the first 24 hours of his latest project’s debut is anything to go by, Alkaline is, undeniably, the most successful independent artiste to have emerged from the genre he represents, according to the Manhattan-based entertainment promotion company, Shuzzr Media.

With impressive streaming numbers, Shuzzr Media, which is also Alkaline’s publicist, told Caribbean Life that Alkaline is one of the few, if not the only, to move huge actual unit sales in a genre “where streaming is at the forefront.”

Within the first hour of its release globally, Shuzzr said “Top Prize” landed at the #1 spot on the iTunes reggae charts and peaked at #6 on the worldwide charts, sharing the top 10 with the likes of J. Cole and Nicki Minaj, who occupied the #1 and #2 spots, respectively.

On the Canadian iTunes charts, Shuzzr said “Top Prize” debuted at #7 and secured the #1 spot on the Apple music charts in Jamaica.

The album then went on to take the #1 spot on Apple music reggae album charts worldwide, Shuzzr said.

Currently at #8 on the US iTunes chart, Alkaline album also debuted at #28 on the United Kingdom iTunes chart.

Shuzzr said Alkaline’s album also holds the #1 Amazon Music’s best-selling album charts in three categories – International, Reggae and Caribbean & Cuba for the past weeks, with all 14 tracks from the album occupying Deezer Top 100 playlist in Jamaica.

On YouTube, Shuzzr said 10 of the 14 tracks have already amassed over 3 million views collectively and have been trending on the popular streaming platform in about 20 countries.

Alkaline, who recently made history as the first Caribbean act to be featured on streaming platform Audiomack’s Acoustic visual series, also holds the #1 trending album on the platform after accumulating 10 million streams and is labelled by the platform as “one of the albums you need to hear this week”, according to Shuzzr.

The entertainment promotion company also said video platform VEVO has endorsed the project by giving the artiste an official playlist on its homepage, “making the project directly accessible to its 20 million subscribers, adding to an already impressive debut.:’

“International recording artiste Kranium and Stalk Ashley also took to their social media account to publicly give their endorsement, while digital platform Pandora also returned Alkaline as the face of their reggae-dancehall playlist, demonstrating his relevance and dominance on the US-based platform,” Shuzzr said.

“With six major DSP endorsement thus far, the 14-track album, like his 2016 debut ‘New Level Unlocked’, which opened at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Album chart and spent 18 consecutive weeks, is expected to debut at #1 on the coveted charts,” Shuzzr added. “Such an accomplishment could make him the only independent reggae-dancehall artiste to have two consecutive album debuts on the coveted charts.

“The artiste has spoken, the album in entirety addresses any question critics may have. The Vendetta fans love it, and the impressive 24-hour debut speaks to that,” Shuzzr continued. “The project demonstrates his level of artistry, growth and dominance.”

Shuzzr said “Top Prize” caters to Alkaline’s global audience, stating that the numbers in terms of actual unit sales and streams “echo that.”

“As an independent artist, Alkaline continues to break barriers globally and expand the genre’s footprint in mainstream and new media markets,” Shuzzr said. “The best is yet to come.”