TYLA & SKILLIBENG ‘JUMPS’ TO NO. 1 ON THE ARFOBEATS CHARTS!

MOBO AWARDS ‘22

After a triumphant show in France, a feature on Nicki Minaj’s chart-topping album Pink Friday 2, and a prestigious MOBO award nomination, Skillibeng, also known as ‘Mr Universe’, has been carving his unique path in the global music scene. His collaboration on ‘Jump’, the ninth track on Tyla’s debut album, has already left a significant mark on the UK music landscape. The song burst onto the UK Official Charts’ Afrobeats chart in the week of March 31 - April 6, claiming the top spot.

It also made a strong showing on the UK Singles Charts, leaping to number 62.

Despite not yet being released as a single officially, ‘Jump’ is the second highest streamed track from ‘TYLA’ following the Grammy-winning single ‘Water’, with 700,000 daily streams on Spotify and over 75,000 videos on TikTok using the song’s official audio. In a Radio 1 Xtra interview, Tyla said that she realised the song needed a ‘Jamaican vibe’ to ‘gruff it up’, which could only be added by Skillibeng.

Recently, Skillibeng has been the first point of contact for artists such as Wizkid, Pa Salieu, Nicki Minaj, and Prince Swanny to inject said Jamaican vibe into their tracks. The fusion of Dancehall, Amapiano, Hip-Hop and Afrobeats sounds resonates with many people within the African diaspora, contributing to its international success.

Gunna is also no stranger to Jamaican music, as he previously collaborated with Reggae singer Koffee on her 2019 single ‘W’, a strong follow-up to her breakout single ‘Toast’.

While collaborations between Dancehall and West African Afrobeats artists are not uncommon, the union of Amapiano artists from Southern Africa and Dancehall artists is a rarity.

While this blend may be new, it is not entirely unprecedented. Byron Messia had previously released an Amapiano remix of his hit song ‘Talibans’ before his remix with Burna Boy. British Jamaican artist Stefflon Don, who is known for pushing genre boundaries, has also dabbled in Amapiano with her track ‘Big Fat Machine’.

With the potential for more crossovers between Dancehall and Amapiano, both genres have much to offer and the future looks promising.