WITH the global success of Ed Sheeran’s hit song Bad Habits , there has been a spike in sales for the various artistes compilation album, Reggae Vaccine.

Released June 4, Reggae Vaccine (Contractor Music Group) has seen an uptick on the iTunes Reggae Charts, with the song Dream (remix) by Jethro “Lonestar” Sheeran featuring Ed Sheeran and Shatta Wale reaching number two on the weekend.

Reggae Vaccine topped the US Current Reggae Albums Chart three weeks ago and has, to date, sold more than 500 copies in the United States. The Dream (remix) has also entered iTunes reggae charts in Ghana and Germany and Apple Music in the United States.

Executive producer of Reggae Vaccine, Sean “Contractor” Edwards explained how Sheeran got involved with his project.

“My affiliation with Ed Sheeran is through his first cousin and early mentor, Jethro Sheeran. I met Jethro on one of my marketing trips in the United Kingdom and we began to work together. He has vocals with Ed and he decided to license the vocals to me for use on this Dream (remix) with Shatta Wale and Jethro Sheeran, who is also a rapper and goes by the name Alonestar. Jethro and Ed have their own agreement with each other as far as production of songs and songwriting,” said Edwards.

In 2017 Ed Sheeran released the pop-dancehall song Shape of You, which became a global hit.

According to Jethro, Ed was heavily influenced by reggae music as Jamaican culture permeated the United Kingdom during his youth. Ed heard a lot of the music when he often visited Jethro in his hometown of Bristol. As teenagers, Ed and Jethro listened to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, and Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry was one of Ed’s favourite songs. “As a matter of fact, one of Ed Sheeran’s first gigs was with a reggae band in Bristol,” Edwards disclosed.

Recently, Jamaica’s Minister of Culture Olivia “Babsy” Grange endorsed the Reggae Vaccine project.

“I would really like to commend this project and the song Reggae Vaccine by Julian Marley,’ she stated in a video clip.

Other artistes featured on Reggae Vaccine include Gyptian, Xray, Wayne Wonder, Bounty Killer, Chezidek, Jahvinci, Anthony B and Vyzadon.