Shatta Wale has made history as the first artist on a Jamaican album and the first African artist to hit No. 1 on the iTunes Reggae Charts in Canada.
The artist achieved the monumental feat with his song “Dream,” which appears on the Billboard charting album Tropical Cruises to Jamaica: The Reggae Collector’s Edition, produced by Contractor Music Group based in Jamaica.
“Dream” also hit the iTunes Singles Chart for all genres in Canada, and late on Sunday night, the song also entered the Billboard chart in Canada at No. 26. It’s the first time the song hit Billboard Canada, although the album has featured before.
Head of Contractor Music Marketing, Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards, said he was grateful for the support the album was receiving from Canadian music listeners.
“Great way to start the year for Contractor Music. Shatta Wale keeps getting bigger on the African continent and we are growing in the market with him. Opening the Canadian market gives us an another country to get sales and streams for reggae and dancehall,” Edwards told Urban Islandz.
Shatta Wale is known for his collaboration “Already” with Beyonce, which won four Grammy Awards in 2020. The song Dream was produced by Tevino productions/ Top Braff.
The Ghanaian artist has been one of the leading artists in the Afro-dancehall space in Africa.
Wale recently sparked controversy when he took the stage on Dec 25 in Accra, Ghana, at a sold-out concert in which he said that artists from Ghana were not as respected as artists from Nigeria.
A list of the top 10 songs on Apple Music being played in Ghana were all Nigerian artists, with at least two featuring Ghanaian artists, something that has drawn condemnation from Ghanaian artists for the lack of support given to them by fans.
Shatta Wale, however, became angry as he spoke about the support Nigerian artists were receiving in Ghana compared to what Ghanaian artists were getting in Nigeria.
“Ghana, You are my Nigeria, You are my America. F**k all NIGERIANS!!..” the 37-year-old dancehall artist said in a stage rant.
