California Reggae Band Stick Figure is now the no. 1 album on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, dethroning Bob Marley, who has been in the top spot for more than two years.
Bob Marley’s Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers was the No. 1 album on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart for two and a half years. The album has been in the top ten despite several other notable projects shifting it to No. 1 from time to time.
However, there are new reactions to Marley’s project being usurped by a California Reggae Group called Stick Figure. The group’s album Wisdom was released over a week ago before climbing the chart.
According to biographical information shared by Stick Figure, the American reggae and dub band came together in 2006 and has released seven full-length albums and one instrumental album. Based out of Southern California, the group consists of members, producer, and guitarist Scott Woodruff, keyboardist Kevin Bong, drummer Kevin Offitzer, bassist Tommy Suliman and keyboardist, backup vocalist and guitarist Johnny Cosmic, and a dog named Cocoa.
The group’s album is also the No. 1 album on the iTunes Reggae Albums chart. This is not the first successful album for the group, as four of their previous albums were among the top 10 albums on iTunes- World on Fire, Set in Stone, and Burial Ground.
Stick Figure shared gratitude to their fans for supporting their album on Monday (Sept 19).
“Thank you to everyone who’s been listening to Wisdom! It’s been a week since the release and the feedback has been incredible. It’s the best feeling in the world to release new music, and I really appreciate all the love and support from everyone.”
The latest win for Stick Figure has drawn mixed reactions from industry people as well as reggae fans who expressed fear that the genre was being overtaken by non-Jamaicans.
These fears were echoed earlier this year when another California band, Soja, was awarded a Grammy for Best Reggae Album, something that Jamaicans have always dominated but also regarded as the standard since the genre was developed by Jamaicans.
The No. 1 spot for reggae albums is mainly based on album sales or equivalent streams. According to MRC Data, Stick Figure has pure album sales totaling 9,672.
Marley’s album, however, has continually been a staple for fans throughout the year, with several of his albums remaining on the top 10 reggae albums chart despite being momentarily displaced by others.
