R&B/Hip-Hop
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In the five years that followed the release of SZA’s groundbreaking debut album, Ctrl, the acclaimed artist teased fans with the occasional one-off or collaboration — as the wait for the official follow-up continued to grow. So when she finally did return at the end of 2022 with her much-anticipated second album, SOS, the stakes were high. And throughout 2023, her record-breaking chart wins exceeded expectations.
With SOS, SZA ventured outside R&B’s boundaries by diving into gospel, grunge, pop-punk and rap; meanwhile, as her producer-engineer, Rob Bisel, previously told Billboard, “Her pen got sharper and more personal.” SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks there, the most of any R&B/hip-hop album by a woman since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut spent 11 weeks at the top in 1991. Instead of its impact being limited to the final weeks of 2022, SOS became one of this year’s biggest releases.
It started with the groovy yet gruesome “Kill Bill,” which arrived as a single in January and eventually became SZA’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also made history with an unprecedented 21-week siege atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The following month, she embarked on the SOS tour, telling Billboard at the time that she was “deeply excited to pop ass and cry and give theater” during her first-ever arena headlining stint, compared with her more intimate, stripped-down shows in the past. “When I finally saw the tour and how insane she was going with her choreography, range and stamina … it really hit me,” her producer Carter Lang previously told Billboard. “The transformation was super apparent.”
SZA found ways to keep SOS in rotation while on the road. In April, “Snooze” was released as the album’s sixth single and slowly grew into its next smash. It was serviced to (and succeeded at) rhythmic, R&B/hip-hop and pop radio, all of which culminated in a star-studded music video that arrived in August and featured Justin Bieber. Soon after its release, she recruited him for the song’s acoustic version. “Snooze” ultimately peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and dethroned “Kill Bill” on Hot R&B Songs, where the former had ruled for 16 nonconsecutive weeks.
By September, SOS became the longest-running No. 1 title on Top R&B Albums, logging 50 weeks and counting at the summit. And to top it all off, SZA finished at No. 1 on four major Billboard year-end R&B/hip-hop rankings: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriters, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (SOS) and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (“Kill Bill”). SZA was also crowned the No. 2 Hot 100 artist of the year and No. 5 Hot 100 songwriter of the year, while SOS landed at No. 3 on the year-end Billboard 200 recap.
“We had a lot of really big moments in R&B this year, obviously SZA being one of those,” says Alaysia Sierra, head of R&B at Spotify. “She’s pop, alternative, R&B. She doesn’t want to be put in a box, but she can’t deny her foundation.”
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But SZA wasn’t the only R&B artist earning rave reviews following a prolonged album break. Janelle Monáe returned with The Age of Pleasure, which is Grammy-nominated for album of the year and blends more Afrobeats, reggae, funk and soul sounds compared with her 2017 left-of-center pop album, Dirty Computer. Jorja Smith released the kaleidoscopic Falling or Flying five years after her critically acclaimed debut, Lost & Found. And Kelela dropped the rapturous Raven, the follow-up to her first full-length album, Take Me Apart, from 2017. Taking their time to further develop their sound — regardless of expectations to make a specific type of music — wasn’t just better for their peace of mind but also for their artistry.
“It’s hard making music as a Black woman [because] we don’t get the luxury to try something and have it be something that’s genuinely part of us,” SZA previously told Billboard. “You have to allow people to get to know different parts of it.”
She’s following the trajectory laid out by artists like Beyoncé and Usher, who have R&B roots but later crossed over and found mainstream pop superstardom. Decades into their careers, they are dominating the world’s biggest stages: Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour grossed $579.8 million, according to Billboard Boxscore — making it the highest-grossing tour by a woman, a Black artist and any American soloist — while Usher will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show next year in Las Vegas, the home of his two residencies that combined are expected to exceed $100 million in earnings by early December, according to Billboard’s estimate.
SZA is well on her way. She is the most nominated artist at the 2024 Grammys, with SOS up for album of the year and six different songs nominated in various genre categories. More Black women R&B artists are present in the Big Four categories: Victoria Monét is the second-most nominated, with seven nods, while Coco Jones has five.
Sierra believes that R&B artists like Monét and Jones, both of whom are up for best new artist, have the best shot at elevating to pop music’s upper echelon. “Our next superstars are R&B artists,” Sierra says. “When you think about a pop star, they’re going to be making R&B music.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
There’s no agreed upon birthdate of the term “rock’n’roll.” Ohio DJ Alan Freed is widely credited with popularizing it in the early 1950s to describe a new upbeat version of R&B music that was gaining traction with young audiences throughout America. Almost 70 years later, in 2017, it was R&B/hip-hop that surpassed rock as the country’s dominant music. And unlike rock, hip-hop does have an agreed upon birthdate, resulting in the current 50th-anniversary celebration.
Despite chatter to the contrary, a large segment of rap sounds very similar to what it was like at 30, 25 or even 15 years old. A clear line can be drawn between Big Daddy Kane or Rakim and the deliveries of Jay-Z, Nas, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. The aesthetics may have changed a bit, as well as the effectiveness of the techniques, but the artistic values shared by the first group of MCs are also shared by the latter.
And yet, until this September, hip-hop had gone an entire calendar year without a song topping the Billboard Hot 100, for the first time since 1993. The concern was understandable, but when it’s considered that the artist who broke the streak isn’t even a traditional rapper — Doja Cat, whose “Paint the Town Red,” the Dionne Warwick-sampling single from her most recent rap-flavored project, Scarlet, did the honors — the genre seems to be just fine. And to be fair, when the genre’s most consistent hit-makers did return — Drake and Cole’s collaboration “First Person Shooter” debuted at No. 1 in October — things more or less went back to normal.
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And that’s what has been so remarkable about this yearlong celebration of hip-hop’s anniversary. The palpable sense of doom and gloom between the innumerable star-studded events — the pop-up performances, special segments on airings of the BET Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards and a multigenerational gathering at Yankee Stadium that capped off the festivities — all just proved that the principles that catapulted the genre into the mainstream are alive and well. Some aspects of the music’s past have even miraculously returned to the forefront — like a strong contingent of women rappers.
For years, fans and critics alike have decried the fact that hip-hop didn’t make enough space for women artists to thrive. It may have taken a few years, but that’s what they’re getting today. As a matter of fact, outside of “The Big Three” (Drake, Cole and Lamar) it’s the women — rappers like GloRilla, Cardi B, Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj and Latto — who seem to be carrying on the tradition the most. They’re the artists rapping as if they’re standing 10 toes down in the middle of a cypher. And their fixation on bars has netted them great success.
Minaj is already one of the most successful artists of her generation and Cardi B can’t seem to make a song that doesn’t turn into a hit, while Latto and GloRilla, two relative newcomers, have both managed to land top 10 hits and sell out their own shows. Even Doja Cat, an already successful pop artist, has released a rap album to critical acclaim and commercial success. To top it off, she took arguably the hottest new female rapper in the game, Ice Spice, on tour with her.
Meanwhile, a new generation of rap stars like Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti have taken the music in a different direction that eschews its traditional form and most resembles a new brand of punk. They don’t focus on crafting 16-bar verses or making sure to stay within the pocket of the beat. Hell, fellow newcomer Yeat doesn’t even use real words at times. But it seems to be working. Uzi’s Jersey club-influenced “Just Wanna Rock” dominated radio, and their Pink Tape album went No. 1 earlier this year. Carti’s last full-length, 2020’s Whole Lotta Red, debuted at No. 1, and Yeat has notched two top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, while hitting No. 1 on the Hot 100 with his recent collaboration with Drake, “IDGAF.” Traditional rap fans may feel that, if this is the future, then hip-hop won’t last another 50 years.
But hip-hop has always been this way — a fearless cultural and artistic lab that works to push itself forward. If anything, it’s the world that has changed the most. “Rap has always come in waves,” says Maurice Slade, SoundCloud’s head of marketing, artist relations. “Similar to a garden, rap needs rain for things to grow. And whenever it gets real rainy — which I think is the time we’re in right now — shortly after that there’s fertile soil and sunshine, and then you see the fruit after.”
According to Slade, the state of the world is responsible for the type of music new hip-hop artists are creating. “The rain right now is post-pandemic — these kids went through some crazy shit with that. You got a recession, you got high interest rates, you got wars going on. The world is f–ked up. When the world is really f–ked up, right after that is when we get some of the best sh-t when it comes to rap and hip-hop.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Megan Thee Stallion and Reneé Rapp are gearing up for the ultimate hot girl crossover.
In a Sunday (Dec. 10) Instagram video shared to Rapp’s official updates account, the “Plan B” rapper — dressed appropriately in all-pink attire — broke the news that a duet between the two women is in the works for the upcoming Mean Girls musical film. “What’s up y’all?” she said. “It’s Megan Thee Stallion, aka the Black Regina George, and I’m excited to introduce my girl to the stage.”
“We have a new song coming out for Mean Girls,” she added in the clip, which Rapp shared to her personal Instagram Story. “That’s right, give it up for the new fantastic plastic, Renee Rapp.”
Meg didn’t give any details about the song’s title or release date, although Mean Girls arrives in theaters Jan. 12, 2024. Rapp stars in the project as queen of the Plastics, Regina George, a role she first played on Broadway in the musical adaptation of Tina Fey’s original 2004 Mean Girls film.
Fey will reprise her role as Ms. Norbury, and Tim Meadows will also return as Principal Duvall. Bebe Wood and Avantika will flesh out the Plastics squad as Gretchen Wieners and Karen Shetty, respectively, and The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Chris Briney will star as Aaron Samuels. Angourie Rice will take over the role of Cady Heron from Lindsay Lohan, flanked by Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis, and Jaquel Spivey as Damian.
The collab announcement comes just over a month after the full Mean Girls trailer dropped, showing Rapp in her element with a perfect sync placement from Olivia Rodrigo. In November, Rapp also released the deluxe version of her debut album Snow Angel, which debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Sept. 2.
As for Ms. Stallion, the three-time Grammy winner is fresh off the arrival of her new single “Cobra,” her first independent release since announcing that she was no longer signed to a record label. Prior to that, she joined Cardi B in releasing “Bongos,” a follow-up to their smash duet “WAP.”
According to Cardi B, she’s a single woman. Early Monday morning (Dec. 11), Cardi went on Instagram Live to tell fans that she and Offset are no longer together after rumors of them breaking up last week circulated on social media.
“I’ve been single for a minute now but I have been afraid to like — not afraid, I just don’t know how to tell the world,” she said in the clip. “But I feel like today has been a sign. The last time I got on Live, I kind of wanted to tell you guys, but I didn’t know how to tell you, so I changed my mind. But it has been like this for a minute now. I just took it as a sign.”
“I wanna start 2024, like, fresh, open,” she added. “I don’t know. I’m curious for a new life, for a new beginning. And yeah, I’m excited.”
The sign Cardi was referring to was Blueface’s claim in a now-deleted tweet that his ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, Chrisean, was intimate with Offset.
He later went into specifics, claiming that Chrisean hooked up with the Migos rapper at Offset and Cardi’s L.A. home in November.
Chrisean appeared to deny the accusations on X, replying in part that Blueface was “making up s–t.”
Offset also refuted those claims on X with a tweet of his own. “I ain’t never talk or touch that lady,” he said in his rebuttal. “Real Talk man you need some help!”
Billboard reached out to Offset’s reps for comment.
Last week, Cardi B and Offset unfollowed each other on Instagram, fueling speculation of a possible breakup. She also shared cryptic posts about outgrowing relationships. “You know when you just out grow relationships,” read the first, followed by, “I’m tired of protecting peoples feelings…I GOTTA PUT MYSELF FIRST!”
In 2020, Cardi filed for divorce, but months later, she called it off. Two years prior, Offset was at the center of a cheating scandal, which led him to deliver a public apology to Cardi.
In an interview with the Call Me Daddy podcast in October, Offset spoke on how the two worked amicably to re-establish trust in their relationship.
“We’re both public figures, we’re both in the eyes of people. Stop being selfish,” he said. “You’re married to this woman, be dedicated to this woman. And also, just like being more communicative about s–t. Like, we just talk more and, because, you know, work was getting in the way, sometimes and it was like, [phew] and we would talk all the time but communication is key. If you don’t like some s–t, tell me, and if I don’t like some s–t, I’ll tell you. We talk and communication is key. Not communicating f–ks s–t up.”
Watch Cardi’s video below.
If you happen to be waltzing through Times Square over the weekend and you got a glimpse of The Weeknd, or 300 Weeknds, then you weren’t seeing things. The eye-popping downtown New York scene on Saturday night (Dec. 9) came courtesy of a 300-person flash mob assembled on the TKTS staircase in the heart of […]
Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé took a major tumble during its second weekend in movie theaters. The tour doc easily topped the box office tally on opening weekend, but in its second frame it is expected to tumble more than 77% from its initial peak. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie directed, written and […]
Quando Rondo was arrested on federal drug charges on Friday night (Dec. 8) in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. The 24-year-old rapper, whose real name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was taken into custody by the FBI after being pulled over in a vehicle, according to ABC’s Savannah affiliate WJCL. The Savannah police served as the […]
2 Chainz was rushed to the hospital after being involved in a car accident early Saturday morning (Dec. 9) in Miami. The Atlanta rapper, 46, took to his Instagram Story following the crash to share a video of himself being loaded into the back of an ambulance on a stretcher. In the brief clip, he […]
Ty Dolla $ign is continuing to tease his and Ye‘s (formerly Kanye West) upcoming joint album by sharing a tracklist on Friday (Dec. 8). He shared the 17-track listing on Instagram, which includes their latest single “Vultures,” featuring Bump J and Lil Durk, that was previewed on WPWX Power 92 Chicago prior to the song’s […]
December may traditionally signal the end of the calendar year, but for Masicka, the twelfth month of the year houses plenty of new beginnings. The dancehall superstar opened the month with the release of Generation of Kings last Friday (Dec. 1), his sophomore studio album and first full-length release since signing to Def Jam in February. The 17-song set comes on the heels of his summer hit “Tyrant,” which sat alongside Byron Messia’s “Talibans” and Chronic Law & Ireland Boss’ “V6” among this summer’s defining crossover dancehall hits.
Upon Masicka’s signing to Def Jam, CEO Tunji Balogun said, via a press release, “Def Jam has always been the home for great artists across the wide spectrum of Black music, and Masicka is very much emblematic of that vision.” That may seem like a catch-all corporate platitude, but Masicka truly does embody the ever-evolving spectrum of Black music. Hailing from Portmore, Jamaica, Masicka grew up listening to not just dancehall and reggae, but also rap music. As Hip-Hop 50 has acknowledged, the relationship between dancehall and hip-hop is as storied as it is symbiotic, and Masicka continues that legacy with a stage name partially derived from his favorite blockbuster 50 Cent album.
Across Generation of Kings, Masicka infuses his trap dancehall foundation with flourishes of R&B (“Wet”) and Afrobeats (“Fight For Us”), calling on a globe-spanning collection of collaborators to bring his vision of collective royalty to life. Equally introspective and biting, Masicka’s lyrics — which explore everything from settling beef to reflections on his childhood — perfectly complement his penchant for lush melodic lines and reverb-drenched harmonies. With such a strong ear, it’s no surprise that, despite dancehall’s current Stateside commercial stagnancy, Masicka has been able to truly break through.
438, his debut album which also won dancehall album of the year at the 2023 Caribbean Music Awards, has earned over 50,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. since its Dec. 3, 2021 release, according to Luminate, and his overall catalog has collected over 258.8 million on-demand streams. Upon release, Generation of Kings looks poised to explode those numbers. In just over a week, the album has hit No. 1 on Apple Music in 16 countries, scored the eighth biggest album debut on Spotify U.K. for the period Dec. 1-3 and reached No. 11 on U.S. Apple Music. Furthermore, with Generation of Kings, Masicka became the first artist in history to simultaneously occupy the top 17 on Apple Music in Jamaica — and he even surpassed Bob Marley & the Wailers‘ unmoveable Legend compilation for the No. 1 spot on both U.S. iTunes’ and Apple Music’s reggae albums charts.
Still basking in the glow of the immediate success of Generation of Kings, Masicka stopped by the Billboard offices to chat about his future as a Def Jam recording artist, his formative musical influences and 50 Cent’s influence in Jamaica.
Let’s talk about Generation of Kings. Where was your head while making this album? What were you drawing inspiration from?
After the first album [438], mi feel like mi cement myself inna di dancehall space with a great body at work. So, with Generation of Kings, mi just feel like it’s my time. The whole era, the whole music, the whole feel, just how everything’s going.
How did you go about assembling the tracklist?
I think that was the hardest part, being we had quite a number of great tracks on the album. So, you kind of get them fi tell a storyline. Mi went back in the studio a couple of times, link up with di team, we decipher a likkle bit and then we think what we choose was more of the songs that were what people can relate to. They’re like the motivational songs you can get a positive vibration from.
So, what exactly was the storyline you envisioned for the record?
Triumph. Just transitioning and taking a greater step towards fulfilling your dreams. This album was basically telling the people dem that I’m ready.
You have some fire collaborations on the album – Popcaan, Spice and Fridayy, to name a few – tell me about bringing those artists into your vision.
The most anticipated collab was the Chronic Law [track], he’s a lyricist from Jamaican and people always wan us fi do a song together. That song also features Lila Iké too – bad upcoming female artist. Mi think di people dem really resonate with that collab. The song with Fridayy, it’s different, the one with Fave too. But I think all of the collabs went exceptionally well.
Did you reach out to Fridayy or did he reach out to you?
Tunji [Balogun] set that up! When I heard di track, I was like, “Yo, this dope,” and Fridayy connected right as his album dropped – mi love di album, it’s crazy.
Speaking of Tunji, you signed to Def Jam earlier this year, so congratulations! Why Def Jam? What drew you to them in particular?
The direction and empowerment for artists culture they have. Mi like how dem work. Mi like Tunji vision more than anything else. We spoke probably about a year and a half before [I] actually signed. Mi also like the humbleness. Mi think we share the same work ethic and vision all in one. Anything’s a risk, but mi think this a good risk.
Why did now feel like the time for you to sign to an international label?
I think, personally, mi cover a lot of ground throughout the Caribbean. I feel like I’ve done everything I needed to in the Caribbean. I’ve traveled the Caribbean like 6-7 times already, over and over again, and it’s just trying to get a greater reach. They see the talent, they see the creativity. It’s just trying fi expand the content and mek di ting grow and just build it. Nuh sense fi have all this talent and you remain on the same level.
There are a lot of hip-hop influences on Generations of Kings and the genre has a rich relationship with dancehall. Are there any rappers you’d like to get on a remix of one of these tracks?
Probably Lil Baby. Lil Baby dope. Jay-Z. 50 Cent.
Compare your headspace from the release of 438 to the release of Generation of Kings.
Mi think mi more mature. Mi think mi have more control in terms of how mi want di music fi sound. The ting before it was just di tip of di iceberg. Mi had just started to venture out into creating albums and creating projects. Mi think 438 was dope, just like Generation of Kings. But mentally, mi more mature, more settled, and the music a likkle bit more polished and direct.
What song on Generation of Kings took the longest to finish?
Mi think “Limelight.” Mi record “Limelight” and then leave it for like a month and then mi other verse come. Most of the time mi do something like that. Mi a just go inna di studio and spit something out. With “Limelight,” di riddim is different so mi actually do the chorus and then the verses.
Why did you decide to make “Limelight” a single?
Mi think di vibe — it was a likkle bit after summer, so you know everybody needs to be pumped. Mi think the vibe and the energy and the whole feeling of the song just felt victorious. Mi just feel like we had “Tyrant,” so mi haffi come with again with something sick. After the “Tyrant” success, mi just say, “Alright then, let mi listen through everything. What does it feel like?” “Limelight” was the next thing. It’s showing that it’s our space and we’re here.
Obviously, we’re in the Social Media Age — how has that been an effective tool for you as you continue to navigate your career?
Social media is the Golden Age, man. It mek it a lot easier and mek people from all over di world see your music. It helps a lot. It help to promote, it help to grow the fan base. Social media is one of the key things right now for musicians. They can just pick up the phone and see somebody in Guatemala and somebody one million miles away. We have a better advantage now than the generation of artists before us, so we just haffi make use of that.
What else do you have on the horizon to promote Generation of Kings?
Mi a shoot alla di music videos! Nuff video, nuff promo, mi already started working on a deluxe. Mi have some songs recorded. Mi think I have some sick collabs on it, it’ll be just as crazy as the album.
What do you listen for in new beats and riddims?
The thing is, you know, the beat don’t matter. It’s the once mi get the beat and mi feel a vibe, mi will record. The beat is a surface problem. For me to get a beat and really write to it, mi like pianos, beats with guitar, percussion. Mi like live songs that have a soulful feeling to it.
How do you approach songwriting? Are you more of a freestyler?
Normally, mi go inna di studio, play di beat for like 2-3 hours, and vibe it, vibe it, vibe it, vibe it, vibe it. Mi cyan write just sitting down. Mi write if mi haffi write, but mi like freestyle. Mi think the music better when mi freestyle. So mi would freestyle it and then go back inside, listen, see where we can make some more arrangements and stuff like that. That’s how mi create music. Mi have a studio at home, so mi inna di studio everyday majority of the time.
Sometimes it’s just the melody alone mi have, I just go inna di studio and mumble it. And throughout the day, when I’m playing a game or something, I just think about it subconsciously, and I finish it like that. Mi nuh have no songbook. I’ve never had a songbook.
Sonya Stephens recently praised you as an amazing songwriter, with a lot of that you can teach older generations of dance artists. I also spoke with Beenie Man few months ago about sharing knowledge across generations of dancehall. What do you think you and your peers can learn from your dancehall elders and vice versa?
Mi think we can definitely study the longevity of the artists dem before. All of them have amazing careers and dem stood the test of time, like Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. Mi think the difference is modern dancehall just gets five minutes of fame. Mi think them nuh love di craft. I think it’s more about getting out there than mastering the craft.
Bounty and Beenie Man start from when they was small, so dem actually really love di music, so they never had any other options. Now we have too much choices. There’s no appreciation for the music, so everybody feel like dem can just be a part of the music and just call themselves anything.
Definitely, mi think they can learn to take more risks, cause mi think we take a lotta risks, the younger generation. They could take more risks and pave more way for di yutes because dem have the opportunity and dem could do way more.
There were a number of global dancehall crossover hits this year, “Tyrant” among them. How do you think that momentum can be maintained?
We just have to realize it’s a bigger market out there. People with different ears, you know, so we just haffi try stuff. We just haffi try to be appealing, try the different music — but at the end of the day, keep originality and keep authenticity. We just haffi try and merge it with the Afrobeats – they’re on that level now. Dancehall was on that level, and it can be on that level again. It will, Imma speak it into being. I just think we need fi come together as people and push di music.
Do you feel that there’s any division that’s preventing that from happening?
Yeah, definitely. Dancehall is known for segregation, and that hinders the growth of the music a lot. Mi think once you have that togetherness and that unity… mi think that’s happening now. Yuh see di yutes dem now? I think the mindset is different, and mi think the yutes just work and take more risks. I venture to say that is why you have so many labels looking to the Jamaican market right now — because mi think there’s a change coming.
And I think that risk-taking, especially in terms of blending genres, is what’s really helping modern dancehall right now. Where do you think your courage to try new sounds comes from? Who were your main musical influences?
Mi love dancehall, but mi started off listening to rap. So, 50 Cent, Eminem, alla dem tings. Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, Massacre. Mi love music. Mi love dancehall, I’m a dancehall artist, but mi love music. Adele a one of my favorite artists of all time, mi listen to Lukas Graham, mi listen to so many different kinds of artists, so mi think with experimenting, it comes from feeling comfortable and mastering the craft and practicing every day. So, if mi get a beat, mi just look at miself like an instrument instead of just a dancehall artist. If I get a beat a need to sing in Spanish, then mi need fi guh learn Spanish! [Laughs.]
We only have one life, so why not experiment and why cage yourself into a box? Grow and try different stuff! Mi just think di music can be so big and diverse, you know?
You had a show in New York recently for your birthday, how was that?
Crazy, crazy. It was my birthday celebration. Di people dem love me out there. They love me in New York, so I always bring the energy. It was a crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy vibe.
Do you have any plans to tour soon?
I have a couple of shows, one in Miami. I have a show in Jamaica soon. And then we start off next year fresh. Right now, mi just a focus on GOK, and getting out there and pushing it.
So, I take it you’ll get some downtime with the family for the holidays.
Yeah, man, just spending some time. Family is big to me, so mi love fi get a likkle time fi spend with my family. I gotta take a break man. After next week, Def Jam cyan get to me! [Laughs.] Just kidding!
Looking out towards the next five years, what are some benchmarks that you want to hit?
In five years’ time, I really love fi become a fully established artist in the U.S. A fully established dancehall artist selling hundreds of thousands of records, start performing in stadiums, and sign some artists.
When it comes to signing artists, what you be looking and listening for?
Typically the same thing what mi have inna miself. Versatility, the love for di music first. You can have the talent, but if you don’t love it nah guh fully work. So them haffi have di love and di drive for it first.
Are there any notes you think the Jamaican recording industry can take from the American and African ones as you continue to work with international labels?
The professionalism. 100% the professionalism and the business behind the music. Mi think that is why the African industry is advancing now and booming like that. Mi think that’s what we lack, but we’re getting back there, right? Once we get back to that disciplinary level within di yutes and within di music, then we will have investors interested in working with dancehall artists cause you’re committed to your words and your work.
Before we go, I heard there’s a dope story behind your name.
You know, actually, it was 50 Cent’s album, The Massacre. Back in high school time, my auntie bought me the album. Initially mi never wan become an artist from di time mi was young, young, young. Mi coulda write songs mi nuh wan turn that.
What did you want to be?
A lawyer, mi was young! I still started my music career young, like 17, 18. But mi get the CD and I kept playing it. My friends dem used to call me Sicka, and then mi just decide say, Yo, Masicka, this is it.
50 Cent influence inna Jamaica is massive. You have the G-Unit tank tops, everybody loves Young Buck, Lloyd Banks — I think G-Unit was one of the crew that everybody inna Jamaica was just crazy about. You have other groups that’s mad talented, but the gangster thing, the aggressive thing just resonate with our culture.