WHAT a difference a year makes.
In February, 2016, deejay Alkaline was touting the release of his first album, New Level Unlocked. He was confident of it doing well in the lucrative American.
It has done well. Released in March, New Level Unlocked topped the Billboard Reggae Album Chart, the first dancehall set to do so in five years.
But now the artiste finds himself in hot water with authorities in his native Jamaica. He was still in custody Sunday afternoon, being questioned by police about the January 20 murder of a man in Kingston.
Alkaline’s arrest (on February 10) is one of the hottest topics in Jamaica. Ironically, its main news rival is the “zero tolerance” crime-fighting measures announced last week by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Another irony. During his campaign for PM last year, Holness regularly used Alkaline’s hit song, Champion Boy.
A colorful figure with his tatooed pupils, Alkaline is the latest dancehall act to run afoul of the law. Vybz Kartel, currently serving life imprisonment for murder, is the most notorious; Tommy Lee Sparta and Popcaan have also had legal issues.
The 23-year-old Alkaline has had spats with other artistes and was barred from performing in Caribbean countries including St. Kitts/Nevis.
Last year, a woman’s group in Suriname said he should be prevented from performing there because he disrespects women.
Yet, last year as he stepped up promotion for New Level Unlocked, Alkaline spoke about personal growth.
“Time is the answer to everything. With time you grow and tend to see things differently. Music forces you to grow quickly,” he told the Jamaica Observer newspaper.
Alkaline, whose real name is Earlan Bartley, does not have the typical dancehall artist’s background. He is from a middle-class family, attended one of Jamaica’s best high schools and went to college where he was a journalism major.
Music took precedence over studies and he hit his stride three years ago with a flurry of hits. Alkaline has maintained that flow with chart-riders like Conquer The World, Somebody Great, One More Time and Wait Your Turn.
Under Jamaican law, a suspect has to be released from custody if they are not charged by police after 72 hours. Today is Alkaline’s day of reckoning.
