REGGAE singer Gyptian has become the first Jamaican act to score a number one album on the Billboard Reggae album chart in almost a year.

His latest album Sex, Love & Reggae, debuts in the top spot with 1,290 copies sold in its opening week. This, by far, doubles the 500 plus copies that his previous album Hold Yuh sold in its opening week back in 2010. That album opened and peaked at number two.

A&R honcho at VP Records, Neil Robertson attributed the encouraging opening numbers to Gyptian’s work ethic and a detailed action plan, which included a promotional run in the UK and the US.

“The work on the road made this happen. We need more Jamaican acts to put in the work. To sell music in this market you have to be active. If artistes work with the label in partnership we can achieve more number one albums,” Robertson told Splash in an interview.

Gyptian’s month-long promo tour included strategic key markets.

“The tour was all clubs. We did a mix of club dates for key radio stations and out on the West Coast we focused on influencers in the market,” Robertson said.

Sex, Love & Reggae features collaborations with Bunji Garlin, Kees from KES the Band, Melanie Fiona and British soul singer Estelle, among others.

Gyptian’s last album registered on multiple Billboard charts thanks to the mainstream success of the smash single, title track Hold Yuh. The single was recently certified gold in the US for sales of over 500,000 copies. It has been certified silver in the UK for sales of over 200,000 copies.

The single enjoyed a favourable run on several Billboard charts in the US as well as the UK singles chart.

The last album by a Jamaican reggae act to reach number one on the Billboard Reggae chart was Beres Hammond’s 2012 effort One Life, One Love.