Alkaline (musician)

Earlan Bartley (born 1993), better known as Alkaline, is a Jamaican dancehall musician.[1]

Alkaline
Birth nameEarlan Bartley
Born1993[1]
Kingston, Jamaica[1]
GenresDancehall
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2009–present
LabelsIndependent
Websitealkalinemusic.com

Early life

Bartley was born in 1993 in Kingston's Victoria Jubilee Hospital.[1] He attended Ardenne High School and studied Media and Communication at the University of the West Indies.[2]

Career

Bartley began recording at the age of 16, and using the stage name Alkaline (Vendetta).He became popular in Jamaica in 2013 with a series of singles.[3] His live shows have sometimes been controversial; In March 2015 he was hit by a bottle during a show in Florida, and in February 2016 was hit in the head by a bottle while on stage in St. Lucia, responding by throwing the bottle back at the offender.[4] He became known for his distinctive look, with bleached skin, blond dreadlocks, and apparently tattooed eyes, which prompted others to follow suit, with Brooklyn rapper Mace being hospitalized after his eye became infected.[3][5] It later emerged that Alkaline achieved his look by using contact lenses.[3][6]

In March 2016, Alkaline's debut album, New Level Unlocked, was released by DJ Frass Records, going on to top the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart in April, making him the first dancehall deejay to have a number one album on the chart for five years.[7][8][9] He had hit singles in Jamaica that year with "Champion Boy", "Block and Delete", "After All", "12 PM (Living Good)", "Formula", and "City".[8] In November he was featured on a remix of Shaggy's "That Love".[10]

His tour of the United Kingdom in June 2016 was beset by problems, with several cancellations due to security issues.[11][12][13]

In September 2016 he was nominated for a MOBO Award for the second time in the Best Reggae Act category, and announced the launch of a clothing line.[14][15][16]

His "Champion Boy" single was remixed in October 2016 and used in an advertising campaign for the Red Stripe Premier League.[17]

New Level Unlocked was selected at number 3 in Billboard's "10 Best Reggae Albums of 2016".[3]

Controversies

Corneal Tattoo

When Alkaline first appeared on the Jamaican dancehall scene in 2013, he caused quite the stir as he claimed to have tattooed the cornea of his eyeballs. Lauded as a publicity stunt by the Jamaican public, Alkaline received much backlash for the controversial move but also gained a heavy music following. An ongoing theme in much of his breakout music was the year "2016", which generated much intrigue as he never explicitly stated the year's meaning or significance. He would keep up this charade for about 3 years, until he finally revealed the "tattoos" to be nothing more than a stunt as the Jamaican public ushered in the year of 2016. He soon revealed that the significance of 2016 lay in the fact that he was giving himself until 2016 to have his music speak for himself, and no longer require publicity stunts for any form of media coverage. This prompted the release of his debut album, New Level Unlocked (2016). He has since halted wearing the black contact lenses that would cover his cornea, and has solidified his place in the Jamaican dancehall scene.

Discography

Albums
  • New Level Unlocked (2016)

Singles
  • "Walk With You" (2011)
  • "Church Folks" (2013)
  • "More Than A Friend" (2013)
  • "Ready" (2013)
  • "Obeah" (2013)
  • "Things Mi Love" (2014)
  • "Nuttin But Badmind" (2014)
  • "Nuh Like People" (2014)
  • "Lonely" (2014)
  • "Live Life" (2014)
  • "Sheg Up" (2014)
  • "How It Feel" (2014)
  • "Weh Wi Ah Go Do" (2014)
  • "Things Take Time" (2014)
  • "Raw As Eva" EP (2014)
  • "Move Mountains" (2014)
  • "Holiday Again" (2014)
  • "Bruk Out" (2014)
  • "Eva Clean" (2014)
  • "Grow Ruff" (2014)
  • "Gone Away" (2014)
  • "Ride Or Die" EP (2015)
  • "More Than Happy" (2015)
  • "Nice Suh" (2015)
  • "Object Bingo" (2015)
  • "Weh Yuh Have" (2015)
  • "Dead Dem Ago Dead" (2015)
  • "Fleek" (2015)
  • "Bedroom Fantasy" (2015)
  • "ATM" (2015)
  • "Champion Boy" (2015)
  • "Living It Up" (2015)
  • "Side Chick" (2015)
  • "Try Again" (2016)
  • "Formula" (2016)
  • "Block & Delete" (2016)
  • "City" (2016)
  • "One Life" (2016)
  • "Direction" (2016)
  • "Conquer The World" (2016)
  • "Somebody Great" (2016)
  • "After All" (2016)
  • "Farewell Ft. Mavado" (2016)
  • "My Side of The Story" (2016)
  • "Company" (2016)
  • "12PM (Living Good)" (2016)
  • "Spoil You" (2016)
  • "Extra Lesson" (2016)
  • "Ricochet" (2016)
  • "Badness It Name" (2016)
  • "Buss Head" (2017)
  • "Microwave" (2017)
  • "Death To Microwave" (2017)
  • "Extra Lesson" (2017)
  • "Son of a Queen" (2017)
  • "Fast" (2017)
  • "Pretty Girl Team" (2017)
  • "Nice and Easy" (2017)
  • "Impact" (2017)
  • "Red Eyes" (2017)
  • "Money Man" (2017)
  • "Golden Hold" (2017)
  • "My Love" (2017)
  • "Suave" (2017)
  • "Helter Skelter" (2017)
  • "Mirage" (2018)
  • "Load Up" (2018)
  • "Perfect" (2018)
  • "Pick Unuh Side" (2018)
  • "Juggernaut" (2018)
  • "Fine Whine" (2018)
  • "Yardie Fiesta" (2018)
  • "Nah Tell Yuh" (2018)
  • "Dutty Badmind" (2018)
  • "Deep Sleep" (2018)
  • "Heartless Killaz" (2018)
  • "Richer & Richer" (2018)
  • "Black Heart" (2018)
  • "Never Lose Hope" (2019)
  • "With The Thing" (2019)
  • "Jealousy" (2019)
  • "Mama Pray" (2019)
  • "Flashback" (2019)
  • "Nothing Nuh Change" (2019)
  • "Elite Only" (2019)
  • "Depend Pan Nobody" (2019)
  • "State Ah Emergency" (2019)
  • "Death Announcements" (2019)
  • "Most Wanted" (2019)
  • "Nuh Mercy" (2019)
  • "Thug Lovin" (2019)
  • "Nuh Average" (2019)
  • "Big Tyma" (2019)
  • "Riches" (2020)
  • "Gladdest Night" (2020)
  • "Ocean Wave" (2020)
  • "Monopoly" (2020)
  • "Nah Fi Like" (2020)
  • "High Props" (2020
  • "Cree" (2020)
  • "We Up" (2020)
  • "Bury Berry" (2020)
  • "Total Murda" (2020)
  • "Nuh Wife" (2020)
  • “Deh Suh” (2021) [18] [19]

References
  1. "Biography: Alkaline". reggaeville.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  2. Biography: Alkaline. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. Kenner, Rob (2016) "Billboard's 10 Best Reggae Albums of 2016: Critic's Picks", Billboard, 23 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  4. Grizzle, Shereita (2016) "Alkaline bottled in St Lucia *Deejay throws missile back into audience", Jamaica Star, 24 February 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  5. Bassil, Ryan (2014) "Jamaican Dancehall Artists are Blinding Themselves by Getting Eyeball Tattoos", vice.com, 20 January 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  6. "Alkaline shocks fans with new photo revealing his eyes weren’t tattooed", Antigua Observer, 21 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  7. "Alkaline's album outshines Sizzla's and Agent Sasco's on Billboard chart", Jamaica Star, 6 April 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  8. Jackson, Kevin (2016) "Spotlight – Alkaline", Jamaica Observer, 20 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  9. Grizzle, Shereita (2016) "Alkaline's Album Success No Surprise – Producers", Jamaica Gleaner, 23 April 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  10. "Shaggy teams with Alkaline", Jamaica Observer, 18 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  11. Grizzle, Shereita (2016) "Cancellations won't affect Alkaline's album sales – DJ Frass", Jamaica Star, 24 June 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  12. "Plug pulled on Alkaline’s gig, again", Jamaica Observer, 15 June 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  13. Authi, Jasbir (2016) "Reggae star Alkaline concert cancelled at last minute due to violence fears", Birmingham Mail, 11 June 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  14. "Best Reggae Act 2014 Archived 22 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine", mobo.com. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  15. Jackson, Kevin (2016) "Spice among 5 vying for MOBO Best Reggae Act", Jamaica Observer, 21 September 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  16. Morgan-Lindo, Simone (2016) "Alkaline eyes clothing line", Jamaica Observer, 23 September 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  17. "Alkaline puts ‘premier’ spin on Champion Boy", Jamaica Observer, 29 October 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016
  18. Anabelle, Salley (15 January 2020). "Alkaline Drops New Single 'Riches' Featuring Knaxx, Sashie and Star Captyn". Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  19. Anabelle, Salley (24 January 2020). "Alkaline Teams Up With Black Shadow For New Track 'Gladdest Night'". Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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