KINGSTON, Jamaica — With the gates of the entertainment industry being opened after a two-year lockdown, it’s no surprise that 2022 was a very active year for local music as industry players made up for ‘loss’ time.

The resumption of live shows, tours and face-to-face creative sessions had artistes back on the grind and back in their respective bags. With most hoping to steal the spotlight after 24 months of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entertainment year 2022 held nothing back. From the release of Shenseea’s controversial collaboration with international rapper Meg Thee Stallion to Spice’s alleged near-death experience to Skeng’s feature with Hip Hop royalty Nicki Minaj, 2022 kept us thoroughly engaged.

As the year draws to a close, OBSERVER ONLINE re-lives some of the top moments. And, as is customary this time of year, the team has also sought to put together the list of artistes who made the most impact over the past 12 months. Learn our picks for Male and Female Artiste of the year as well as Breakthrough artistes of the year and Song of the Year as we take you on a journey through the year that was.

Memorable Moments

1. Entertainment industry re-opens

After COVID-19 brought the entertainment industry to a grinding halt for two years, the sector was officially re-opened in March 2022. Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement during his contribution to the 2022/2023 Budget Debate in Parliament. Indicating an understanding for the difficulties the sector had experienced since March 2020, Holness also indicated that in addition to the resumption of live entertainment, permit fees to host events would attract a 50 per cent reduction as he aimed to get the industry back on its feet.

Following that announcement, several major events including Carnival in Jamaica, Reggae Sumfest and Dream Weekend confirmed dates for the return of their respective events.

2.DJ Cassidy brings BET Pass the Mic to Jamaica

Although it happened a few weeks before the official end of nightly curfews, DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic session in Jamaica was undoubtedly a 2022 entertainment highlight. The American disc jock who professed his love for the culture in an interview with OBSERVER ONLINE, said the BET virtual show would not have been complete without a reggae/dancehall version. Calling on some of Jamaica’s most notable music icons, the show which was aired during a special broadcast at Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in February, showcased everything good about Jamaica’s music and then some. The show featured the likes of Sister Nancy, Patra, Tanto Metro and Devonte, Nadine Sutherland and Terror Fabulous. Putting what is arguably Jamaica’s best musical era on full display, the entertainment package was nothing short of scintillating.

3. Shenseea’s controversial ‘Lick’ with Meg Thee Stallion

Months after she was featured on Kanye West’s Grammy-nominated album, DONDA, dancehall star Shenseea landed another huge international feature. This time, the ‘Trending Gyal’ teamed up with the leader of the ‘Hotties’, Megan Thee Stallion on the single, LICK. However, despite high expectations, the single was labelled a ‘flop’ by a number of listeners who believed, controversy aside, the song offered little. Nonetheless, the track, a raunchy instruction filled track put oral sex, a topic largely considered taboo in Jamaica, back into the spotlight.

4. Skeng gets Nicki Minaj’s attention, earns international collab

A fairly new act on the dancehall scene, Skeng has had quite an impressive run in the entertainment sector since getting his breakthrough in 2021. With hits such as ‘Gvnman Shift’, ‘Protocol’, ‘Who Dat’ and most recently ‘Life Changes’, ‘London’ and ‘Likkle Miss’, Skeng’s meteoric rise to the top of the dancehall industry is something to talk about. The entertainer soaked up so much of the musical spotlight leading into 2022, he soon found himself on Nicki Minaj’s radar. The international superstar’s love for dancehall is no secret as she has collaborations with the likes of Gyptian, Mavado, Beenie Man and Skillibeng. Still, as a newcomer, Skeng landing a feature with Minaj was a huge boost for the young artiste’s career. Minaj ended up remixing Skeng’s hit single ‘Likkle Miss’, with the official music video amassing close to 5.5 million views on YouTube since its release in September. Minaj, who gave a shout-out to Skeng during her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, also did another remix to the popular track which featured an all-female lineup that included the likes of Pamputtae, Spice, Dovey Magnum and others.

5. Spice hospitalised

The dancehall industry was sent into a tailspin towards the latter part of the year as news broke that Queen of Dancehall Spice was reportedly fighting for her life following post-surgery complications. As news of her hospitalisation took on a life of its own, there were rumours that the entertainer suffered a heart attack and was in a medically induced coma. Those rumours were denied by her booking agent, Ray Alexander, who told OBSERVER ONLINE that the stories circulating on the internet were all lies.

“Those are all lies,” Alexander said. “Spice hasn’t had a heart attack, and she isn’t in a coma. The rumours were caused by people not knowing where she was and because she hadn’t posted on IG since October.”

Spice in a social media post in November put all the rumours to rest as she admitted being hospitalised and thanked God for ‘saving her life.’

““Thank you Jesus for saving my life. Hey Besties I’m in a better space today to properly update you on my current health situation. I suffered a damage hernia a few days ago that sent my body into sepsis, as a result I was rushed to the hospital for immediate surgery,” her post read. “As you know I’ve been off social media for a while to rest mentally, so little did I know that during my medical scare it was already been said that I had a heart attack, I was in a coma, and I also died but none of that is true.”

Spice has since shared pictures of herself and family enjoying the Christmas holidays.

A number of artistes stood out in 2022 but only one can earn OBSERVER ONLINE’s pick for Male and Female Artiste of the year as well as Male and Female Breakthrough Artistes of the year. We have also narrowed down a list of songs that dominated the local airwaves and had the parties swinging in dancehall for 2022. Without further ado, here are our 2022 winners.

Male Dancehall Artiste of the Year – Masicka

This was a tough category for us as a number of male deejays made significant strides in the music industry over the past 12 months. Skeng, who continued to churn out hit after hit in 2022, saw his career soar to new heights when he landed a collaboration with international rapper Nicki Minaj. Minaj remixed Skeng’s Likkle Miss and gave the track new life by introducing it to a whole new market. It was indeed a good look for dancehall.

Speaking of positive outlooks for dancehall, Skeng was not the only artiste attracting international attention in 2022. Skillibeng, who also boasts a collaboration with Nicki Minaj, continued to stamp his class on the overseas market. Following a widely successful tour of the United Kingdom where his hit single ‘Whap Whap’ dominated airwaves, the entertainer was officially signed to RCA Records. The label’s talent includes the likes of A$AP Rocky, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Doja Cat, H.E.R., SZA, Shakira, Usher, and Wizkid. Earlier this month, it was also announced that the entertainer would be joining Chris Brown for the European leg of his Under the Influence tour slated to get underway in February. This year, Skillibeng was also seen rubbing shoulders with DJ Khaled. He also walked away with the win for Best Caribbean Music Act at the recently concluded Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Award ceremony.

Other entertainers who made an impact this year were the vibrant LaaLee who kept Jamaicans including the prime minister dancing to his catchy songs and Chronic Law who dethroned Vybz Kartel as YouTube’s most streamed artiste out of Jamaica for 2022. Still, streaming numbers and international collabs aside, the entertainer who walks away the 2022 Male Artiste of the year is Masicka.

Undoubtedly one of dancehall’s most lyrical artiste and indeed one of the most consistent, the ‘History’ deejay continued to dominate the airwaves in 2022. His widely acclaimed 438 album which, although released in 2021, continued to stir conversation in the dancehall, with many labelling it one of the best projects released by a local entertainer in recent times. Masicka also has impressive streaming numbers on YouTube with four songs on the platform’s list of top 20 songs out of Jamaica for 2022. Not to mention in terms of live performances, Masicka delivered arguably one of the most memorable sets at this year’s Reggae Sumfest. Revealing that it had been three years since his last performance on local soil, the deejay told the Sumfest crowd that although he may not be considered one of the most popular acts out of Jamaica, he is definitely one of the most consistent.

“Mi a one a di baddest artistes inna di business. Dem can’t find hit song like me, no time. A talk dem talk and try fi hide mi glory. Mi a di baddest artiste inna Jamaica right now,” he said at the time. And on that note, we salute one of dancehall’s ‘baddest’ with our pick for Male Artiste of the year.

Female Dancehall Artiste of the Year

Picking a winner in this category proved easier as unlike their male counterparts, the females only had a handful of artistes who managed to make a meaningful dent in the entertainment industry this year. The usual names make the cut again this year with Shenseea, Spice and Jada Kingdom being the only female acts to cause stir on the local music scene for 2022. From ‘Licks’ to ‘Tape Measures’ to ‘GPP’, these ladies definitely kept things interesting with some steamy songs and of course, international features.

We’re happy that the Queen of Dancehall seems to be recovering well from her medical scare as she continues to prove each year that the dancehall space needs her. From her Grammy-nominated album in 2021 to the Billboard charting project Emancipated in 2022, Spice maintains her grip on the dancehall throne. Speaking of which, the ‘So Mi Like It’ entertainer was officially crowned Queen of Dancehall at this year’s Reggae Sumfest — a fitting crown for a woman who is arguably dancehall royalty.

Jada Kingdom also showed impressive form this year. Teaming up with Stephen Di Genius on the track ‘GPP’, the entertainer had social media in a chokehold for weeks with the teaser to the single. The song which was officially released in August has since garnered more than 5.5 million YouTube views and has earned Jada Kingdom a spot in the conversation for female dancehall artiste of the year 2022. In addition to ‘GPP’, Kingdom also landed a collaboration with international singer John Legend. The track, ‘Speak in Tongues’, was featured on Legend’s album dubbed Legend.

But its Romeich Entertainment’s leading lady who edges out her counterparts this year for the win in this category. Following up on two features with Kanye West on his DONDA album, Shenseea landed collaborations with a plethora of international acts this year. Aside from her single with Meg Thee Stallion, the entertainer also has songs with 21 Savage, Charlie Puth and Chris Brown. Her ability to find rub shoulders with the international heavyweights and land features with them have catapulted Shenseea to new heights in her career. But while international features were undoubtedly a highlight for Shenseea’s year in music, the release of her debut album was perhaps her biggest accomplishment for 2022. Released in March, the project dubbed ALPHA debuted at no 1 on the iTunes Top 100 Reggae Albums chart.

Dubbing the Trending Gyal singer the “next big thing out of Jamaica”, Entertainment and Culture Minister, Olivia Grange said Shenseea’s ALPHA album showcased “the best a local talent has to offer.”

“Her music will cross over because it’s a great, eclectic mix of dancehall, reggae and new music…Shenseea has found her niche and her niche is cross over, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Grange said at the album launch in March.

Breakthrough Male Artiste of the year

A number of dancehall newcomers have made leeway in the industry this year. Among them are Kraff Gad, Silk Boss, Malie Donn and Valiant. While all the artistes listed have managed to carve out a space in the industry for themselves, only one dominated the entertainment scene with the kind of charisma and poise not possessed by many. This year’s Breakthrough Male Artiste of the year is Valiant.

‘Fadda Dippo’ as he’s affectionately called has had a fairytale-like rise in dancehall. Having gained popularity through his slang, ‘Kotch Eh hat, a lie’, the artiste has proven that he has more to offer than just catchy phrases. Churning out hits such as ‘Dunce Cheque’, ‘Siance’, ‘St Mary C.A.L’, ‘Speed Off’, ‘North Carolina’ and more, Valiant has held a tight grip on the local airwaves over the past few months. It’s also a big plus that the entertainer knows how to handle himself on stage and is media friendly. Despite some negative reactions to one of his songs in particular, the entertainer managed to turn all unflattering comments into positive outcomes. Since his rise in the industry, he has earned the approval of stalwarts such as Bounty Killer and producers Birchill and Bobby Konders. Valiant is poised to be a force to reckon with in the future.

Breakthrough Female Artiste of the year

With only two worthy candidates for this category this year, the win goes to Stalk Ashley. Moyann, who made the list in 2021, had a great year in music. In addition to making her Reggae Sumfest debut, the entertainer also managed to produce a number of singles that gained the attention of many including a collaboration with Jashii. Still, it was Stalk Ashley who had the upper hand this year. For us, Stalk Ashley’s style and lyrical potency makes her one to watch in 2023. It also helped that her feature with Skeng, ‘Talibhan’ was one of the hottest songs on the dancehall scene for 2022. With no indication that she intends to slow down soon, Stalk Ashley recently landed a collaboration with Valiant. The single titled ‘Narcissistic’ is currently the number one trending song out of Jamaica on YouTube, racking up close to a million views in just one week.

Song of the year

While there were arguably a number of songs worthy of the win in this category including Masicka’s ‘History’, Jashii’s ‘Born Fighter’ and Shane O’s ‘Dark Room’, the win has to go to Valiant’s ‘Dunce Cheque’. Although not a favourite among many Jamaica’s intelligentsias, including politicians who have expressed that the song glamorises ‘dunceness’, the catchy single has had a tight grip on the local airwaves. The track which has amassed over eight million views since the release of the official video in November, earns the win on suave, flow and melody.