J Boog tops new-look Billboard Reggae Albums chart
JBOOG’s success on the iTunes reggae albums listing, where his Wash House Ting album briefly displaced the Bob Marley and the Wailers pair of Legend albums at the top of the chart, has carried over into the Billboard ranking for the week ending December 10, 2016.
Wash House Ting, debuts at the top of a chart that has a new look , not in terms of presentation, but in terms of the number of new entries, J Boog’s set being one of four. Three are in the top five as Maisyahu’s EP Release the Bound, is in the second spot and the multi-artiste Strictly the Best Volume 54 is fourth. There is a Strictly the Best double as the fourth new set in the top 10 is Volume 55, which is at number seven.
RUSH OF DEBUTS
Of course, the rush of debuts means significant displacement of some albums that were on the chart previously. Rebelution is the major casualty as last week’s number two, Falling Into Place, is now in the third position. It has fared better than the band’s Live at Red Rocks, which was at the top of the Billboard ranking last week but is now in fifth spot.
For the first in a long time, there are no Marleys in the top 10— Ziggy Marley’s self-titled set is at number 11 in its 27th week on the chart, down a place from last week, while Stephen Marley’s Revelation Part II: the Fruit of Life, is 12th, freefalling from last week’s third position.
Stick Figure’s Set in Stone has slipped two places to number six. The only set on last week’s Billboard Reggae Albums Chart to make gains is Shifta X Che’Nelle’s EP You & I, which has moved up one spot to be at number eight. Beenie Man’s Unstoppable is down four places to number nine in its sixth week on the chart and The Frightnrs, Nothing More to Say, completes the top 10.
On the iTunes listing of top 100 reggae albums up to 12 a.m., yesterday, J Boog’s Wash House Ting, is in second position. It is sandwiched by two new releases - Leaves in the Pool (The Holdup) is number one and A Dollar Short & a Minute Late, is third. Legend (Remastered) is fourth and Legend (Deluxe Edition) is sixth. They sandwich another new release, Iration’s Double Up.
There are two more Bob Marley and the Wailers albums in the top 10 as The Legend Live — Santa Barbara County Bowl: November 25th 1979 is seventh. It is an anniversary release, as it was put on November 25th. Gold is ninth. A couple tracks which have a Billboard presence are in the iTunes top 10. Falling Into Place (Rebelution) is at number eight, while Set in Stone (Stick Figure) is 10th. Strictly the Best, Volume 54 is at 20 and the Cure Pain Riddim compilation is at 25. Alkaline and Vybz Kartel are side by side, with The Teacha’s King of the Dancehall at 39 and New Level Unlocked at 40. And in the spirit of the season, the various artistes set— A Reggae Christmas — places at 61.
Among the accustomed sets on the chart by performers like Toots and the Maytals, Gregory Isaacs, and Steel Pulse, Dennis Brown’s Love and Hate, has put in an appearance at number 87 and Black Uhuru’s Red is 91st.