For many in the local entertainment industry, 2021 was almost like an extension of 2020. Although the sector was allowed to re-open briefly during the summer, lockdowns, social gathering restrictions and nightly curfews brought the industry to a grinding halt for the second consecutive year. There were little to no legal entertainment events held this year and industry players continued to feel the brunt of a coronavirus pandemic that seems never-ending. Still, showing immense resilience in the face of tremendous adversity, key players in the sector (for the most part) tried to make the best of a bad situation and continued to produce music that made a global impact.

From Spice’s hugely popular crossover hit with Grammy-winning artistes Sean Paul and Shaggy to Skillibeng’s Crocodile Remix featuring ‘Queen of Rap’ Nicki Minaj to Shenseea’s double feature on Kanye West’s critically acclaimed DONDA album, Jamaican artistes showed up and showed out despite the industry setbacks.

As we reflect on the year that was, OBSERVER ONLINE singles out the entertainers who made the biggest dents in music last year.

Breakthrough artiste of the year (Male) – Yaksta

Admittedly, deciding this category presented quite the challenge as there were a number of up-and-coming dancehall talent who proved they have what it takes to carry on the island’s rich musical legacy. On our list this year are fast-rising talents Yaksta, Rytikal, Nation Boss, Skeng and Jashii. Each of the shortlisted artiste had a single that dominated the local airwaves in 2021.

Despite a rough start to his year having been arrested and charged for Illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, dancehall artiste Rytikal found a hit single in the track, Chosen. The song which was released in May dominated local airwaves for weeks and sat comfortable in the top spot on the local YouTube trending charts for three straight weeks after its release. Having amassed close to 2.5 million views in under a month, the single was dubbed by many as a track that would continue to hit for years to come. It’s safe to say that months after its release and some 12.5 million YouTube views later, that assumption may very well be true. Since that mega-hit, the entertainer has consistently churned out good music that has kept him on people’s radar throughout the year.

Nation Boss, Skeng and Jashii also found songs in 2021 that thrust them in the spotlight. Skeng’s single Gvnman Shift had everyone singing along to the lyrics like a choir and even had female officers brandishing their service weapons on camera as they vibed to the track. At 14 million YouTube views, the fast-rising dancehall entertainer undoubtedly found an anthem that made people pay attention to his talent. A viral freestyle on social media accounted for Nation Boss’ ascension in music. His heartfelt single about the treacherous nature of human beings was a hit among the masses. He officially released the track dubbed Humans back in March and in a few weeks it racked up several million views on YouTube. Months later, the song is still a favourite among listeners.

Aside from Jashii’s viral interview with ER’s Anthony Miller which saw the deejay gaining even more traction and popularity over the past few weeks, the up-and-coming artiste has been consistently churning out single after single this year. His most popular track, Cream of the Crop, released back in August, has amassed more than six million views on YouTube and his other offerings so far have been attracting similar numbers on the popular streaming platform. It’s safe to say, there is a lot to look forward to from the youngster.

Still, we can only chose one and our pick for Breakthrough Male Artiste of the year goes to Yaksta.

Yaksta captivated hearts when he released the single Ambition at the start of the year. The track which presented messages of hard work and perseverance was the encouragement all ‘trying youths’ islandwide needed to continue their journey. And for those who lack ambition, it may have just been the source of motivation one needed to get up and go. It was one of those feel good songs that made you reflect on your life choices and then find the urge to do more with one’s time. That coupled with the fact that the artiste was singled-out by Pandora and added to their ‘Artistes To Watch’ lists for 2022 makes him the clear winner in our books. Of all the entertainers on the shortlist, Yaksta seems the most marketable and the most poised for international success.

Breakthrough Artiste of the Year (Female) – Pretty Pretty

Unlike the male category, this was an easy choice as there were only three names on our list.

Moyann, Stalk Ashley and Pretty Pretty were obvious picks for female breakthrough artiste. Moyann and Stalk Ashley, though not new to the music scene, both had a relatively good 2021.

Moyann released the highly-anticipated music video for her single Backseat back in January and has been putting out content consistently since then. In addition to a number of noteworthy single, Moyann managed to land a huge collaboration with fellow female artiste Shenseea. The single, No Limit, released back in March currently has more than two million views on YouTube and is one of Moyann’s biggest hits to date.

Stalk Ashley also released a myriad of singles in 2021 that created a buzz on the local and international music scene. She too managed to gain a collaboration with a top dancehall artiste having joined forces with Rygin King on the single GLU back in October. The song has gained more than half a million views on the platform since. She also released her debut EP, Excuses Pt 1 earlier this month which earned her rave reviews by UK’s Complex Magazine.

Still, our pick for Breakthrough Female Artiste of the year is dancer-turned-artiste, Pretty Pretty. The budding artiste is 1/3 of entertainment trio, PTR, all of whom were former Team Spice dancers. All three girls including Rebel and TC have been transitioning into other areas of the creative industry since their split from the Grammy-nominated singer. Pretty Pretty, having chosen music, released her first single at the end of 2020. The track, Buzzy, featured fellow PTR mate, Rebel. The single was dubbed a ‘miss’ by music listeners who urged the artiste to go back to the drawing board. That she did and in January dropped the single, Social Media. The song chronicled the harsh criticism she faced after her first single as well as the attention she received following a very public split from popular dancehall artiste, Iwaata. The single was better received by listeners and could very well have been the birth of another talented female dancehall artiste. Pretty Pretty found her hit single in July when she released the track, Sad Eeh. The single went viral on social media and gained the entertainer a new fan base. With more than half a million views on YouTube since its release, the song proved that Pretty Pretty (now that she has found her bearings) is a force for the future.

Song of the Year – Virgin

Many singles made an impression on us in 2021. Some of them were already mention above as we sorted through the picks for Breakthrough Male Artiste of the year. However, joining Rytikal’s Chosen, Skeng’s Gvnman Shift, Nation Boss’ Humans and Yaksta’s Ambition are Intence’s Yahoo Boys, Dexta Daps’ WiFi and Jahvinci’s Virgin.

All of the singles shortlisted were tracks which captivated different audiences and had them in their feels in different ways. Still, the single that gets our pick is Jahvinci’s Virgin. The single was sonically one of the most solid projects produced by any artiste this year. It’s safe to say Billboard-charting producer, NotNice and the ‘world singer’ Jahvinci have found the winning formula. With close to 14.5 million YouTube views (and counting), Virgin was the most streamed single out of Jamaica on the popular platform. It beat out Gvnman Shift and Chosen to nab the top spot and deservedly so.

Male Artiste of the Year – Skillibeng

Dismal album reviews aside, dancehall artiste Skillibeng was one of the most consistent artistes on the local music scene for 2021 and is our pick for Male Artiste of the Year. If it’s one thing you can always count on Skillibeng for, that is to produce a catchy track from the ‘weirdest’ topics. Which other artiste would have thought about not only penning a single about the now infamous Rocky Point plane crash but also having the audacity to shoot a whole music video at the scene. Only the man from the East could have, let’s be real. But that’s not the reason Skillibeng gets the nod this year. The entertainer was chosen after landing a big collaboration with international rap superstar, Nicki Minaj, who hopped onto Skillibeng’s hit single Crocodile Teeth for the official remix. Uploaded to her YouTube account, the single was the talk of the town when it was released back in May particularly after a post and delete from Skillibeng’s Instagram account had people believing the collaboration was a farce, wishful thinking from the Eastsyde artiste at best. But Skillibeng had the last laugh when Nicki Minaj herself made the announcement via an Instagram live session. For that piece of history and given the fact that the male entertainers were less than impressive this year with their music release, Skillibeng nabs OBSERVER ONLINE’s 2021 Artiste of the Year title.

 Female Artiste of the Year – Spice

This category was also a close call. Only two female entertainers were really in contention for the title; Spice and Shenseea. This year the title belongs to the ‘Queen of Dancehall’ herself, Spice. Making history as the first hardcore female dancehall artiste to nab a coveted Grammy nomination, Spice again created history when her album TEN made the final six in the running for the golden gramophone.

Having been a part of Kanye’s DONDA album, Shenseea also has a Grammy-nomination to her name. Still, 2021 belonged to Spice. Her single, Go Down Deh, which saw her collaborating with multi-talented Grammy winning artistes Sean Paul and Shaggy is one of the biggest cross-over hits produced by a local artiste in recent times. And just in case you aren’t a believer, not only did the trio use the single to showcase the Jamaican culture on TV shows across Jamaica including Good Morning America, but the track also made former US President, Barack Obama’s Favourite Music of 2021 list. That’s quite an achievement.

There were also a number of noteworthy moments in entertainment for 2021. Here are our top five picks for biggest entertainment news stories for the year that was:

1.       Beenie Man and Krystal Tomlinson call it quits

Motivational speaker and television host Krystal Tomlinson confirmed that she and veteran dancehall deejay Beenie Man were no longer a couple back in January.

2.       Mavado’s son convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison

Dante Brooks, the 18-year-old son of dancehall artiste Mavado was sentenced to life in prison for the 2018 murder of Lorenzo Thomas. He must serve 22 years before he may become eligible for parole. He was also sentenced to 15 years for arson and 20 years for illegal possession. The sentences will run at the same time. Brooks was found guilty of murder in January and sentenced in March.

3.       Jah Cure detained in Amsterdam

Jah Cure, whose real name is Siccature Alcock, was arrested following a stabbing incident in Amsterdam on October 1. The entertainer who marked his 43rd birthday behind bars on October 11 is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly stabbing 45-year-old concert promoter Nicardo ‘Papa’ Blake in the stomach.

4.     Lila Ike shares ‘coming out’ tweets

In a series of tweets back in November, reggae singer Lila Ike seemingly shared that she was ‘into women’. The Where I’m Coming From singer’s account appeared to indicate her sexual preference while warning that photos of her in a seemingly compromised position could possibly be exposed online. Ike later addressed the tweets which caused a firestorm on social media and shared that she has been struggling with her mental health in recent times.

“I want to let everyone know that I am safe. I am sorry if I have alarmed anyone of any immediate threats to my wellbeing. I have been struggling with my mental health for some time which manifested in my recent social media posts,” she tweeted. “I am working through this day by day and will address other matters in my own time. In every journey in life there is a moment of chaos before we reach peace. I’m on my journey to heal. Thanks for your support. Blessings and light,” she added.

5.      Foota Hype lashes out at Spice for accepting Pride Festival performance

‘Queen of Dancehall’ Spice had to hit back at fellow entertainer Foota Hype over her decision to perform at a LGBTQ festival in Toronto, Canada. The two were at loggerheads after the controversial selector called out the Go Down Deh deejay in a lengthy Instagram post back in November urging her to decline the performance as her appearance at the Pride Festival would be a “big L for the ancestors of Jamaica and the music given to us by the almighty.”

Spice having caught wind of Foota Hype’s remarks urged the selector in a brief Instagram live session to apologise for his comments. Indicating that she does not discriminate, Spice told Foota Hype in a Instagram post that her music goes way beyond him.

“I don’t discriminate! I love all my fans no matter what race or their sexual preference, it’s not my decision to make…I’m very sorry but my music does not stop at your big st**king foot,” a part of the post read.