Outsold - Billboard Says American Reggae Acts Sell More Than Jamaican Counterparts.... Amid The Noise and Haste has held the top slot for the past three weeks, selling a total of 16,083 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Shereita Grizzle, Gleaner Writer Published: Sunday | September 21, 2014

Raging Fyah Band

In June, Billboard disclosed some news that many may have found surprising, or perhaps not. The website revealed that United States (US) reggae acts were outselling their Jamaican counterparts, by comparing the number of Jamaican acts that have singles or albums on their charts to the number of US acts also making the list. If you thought the June findings were a hoax, the website did yet another comparison which yielded similar results.

Ziggy Marley

The recent findings show five American reggae acts occupying the top 10 positions on the Reggae Album chart for the week ending September 13. SOJA's Amid The Noise and Haste has held the top slot for the past three weeks, selling a total of 16,083 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan. At number three, Rebelution's Count Me In has sold 33,049 units over 12 weeks, surpassing Ziggy Marley's Fly Rasta, which amassed a total of 14,720 units in sale after 20 weeks on the chart. Soca artiste Bunji Garlin's Differentology and Chronixx's Dread and Terriblealso made the list. Dread and Terrible currently holds the No. 12 spot, selling just over 6,000 copies after 21 weeks on the chart.

Up-and-coming reggae band Raging Fyah, in a recent interview, said that reggae continues to grow internationally, dubbing it a good sign for the local music fraternity. When asked to comment on the Billboard findings, the band's bass guitarist, Delroy 'Pele' Hamilton, says while the findings may not be good news for the industry, it bares much truth. more