Shatta Wale is soaring to new heights with his monster new collaboration with Beyonce and getting his dream collab with dancehall giant Vybz Kartel.
Shatta Wale is, without doubts, one of the biggest musical stars on the continent of African. His popularity and fame were further jolted last year after his song with American superstar Beyonce’ appeared on ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ soundtrack, crafted to accompany the 2019 animated movie, The Lion King. The collaborative effort titled “ALREADY” also features the Jamaican-American electronic group, Major Lazer. The song was also tapped for Beyonce’s visual presentation of the album titled Black is King.
However, Beyonce’s visualizer is much more than something that pairs nicely with Disney’s classic remake. With dedications to her husband Jay-Z, the rapper’s son Sir Carter, and black men all over the world, Black Is King is a representation of Black Empowerment. The 1hour 25 minutes rundown paints a coming of age story of a young black king, meanwhile informing the black masses of ways to help and relinquish years of systematic oppression of the black male at the hands of slavery.
“ALREADY,” which was premiered on Youtube on July 30, 2020, and sees Shatta Wale, Beyonce, and her team of dancers providing a rich visual representation of the theme at hand. The music video has since secured over 17,000,000 views at the time this article was written.
The song itself has already gone on to secure spots on many of the major charts across the world. The song debuted on Billboard’s R&B /Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart at number 9, ahead of other tracks on the album such as “Find Your Way Back” and “Brown Skin Girl,” which featured Saint Jhn, Wizkid, and Blue Ivy Carter. While debuting at the bottom of the chart Billboard’s all-genre Digital Song Sales chart this week, “ALREADY” is the only song from the 19 track compilation to actually land on that specific list.
The Ghanian deejay, who is dubbed the African King Of Dancehall, is currently reveling in the success of the collab and the music video feature. The singer/songwriter is also making strides to securing another high profile collaboration with the King Of Dancehall, Vybz Kartel. While speaking on BBC’s Focus on Africa a few months ago, Shatta mentioned that Vybz Kartel will be featured on his upcoming album, “Gift Of God’ as well as Beyonce’. The respect and love the African star has for Vybz Kartel dubs himself as the ‘Son of Gaza King’ on his Instagram account. The Jamaican lyricist stands next to Beyonce’ as the only two accounts Shatta Wale follows on the popular social media app. The love doesn’t only extend to the Worl’boss as Wale is a total stan for Jamaica and its culture. He recently mentioned to the Jamaica Observer that he regularly gets mistaken for a Jamaican. “Lot of times when I am going through airports people ask me if I am Jamaican, and I tell them no, I’m Nigerian,” he said.
Wale was also one of the headline acts for the Tropical Cruises to Jamaica: Reggae Collector’s body of work. His song “Dream” is one of the top songs on the project that has actually gone on to reach the number 2 spot in the United States; it is only superseded by Buju Banton’s Upside Down 2020.
We cannot wait to hear just what the two dancehall kings are cooking up for dancehall fans all over the world.
