“THIS IS DANCEHALL” WILL BE MY LAST DANCEHALL ALBUM” DECLARES MR. VEGAS!

Jamaican music superstar Mr Vegas has officially declared his forthcoming project, ‘This Is Dancehall’, his final dancehall album.

The highly anticipated set will be released on September 23 on the artist’s own MV Music record label and will be distributed worldwide by VP Associated Labels (VPAL).

Mr Vegas, who celebrates his 20th anniversary in entertainment next year, admits that it was a tough decision but says his hand was forced by the current state of the industry.

“The days when dancehall acts were selling albums are basically over,” explains the veteran artist. “It is very expensive to produce an album, and most times, in this Internet era, you take a loss. The business is back to being more single driven, so that is where I will be concentrating my efforts when it comes to dancehall.”

Part history lesson and part tribute, Mr Vegas says the new album was inspired by the recent surge of dancehall-influenced records being played on major platforms around the world. “I also noticed mainstream artists were tapping heavily into the genre and not giving credit where credit is due,” he reasons. “I’ve spent 20 years of my life making dancehall. This album kicks in the door, musically speaking, and claims our rightful seat at the table.”

The lead single Dancehall Dabb and its supporting video is already a fan favorite on VEVO, with more than 700,000 views. The remix, featuring rising UK rap diva, Nadia Rose, and Jamaica-born UK-bred deejay Don AndrE, is beginning to chart in the UK and Europe. Also gaining traction is the infectious single and video for Identify My Love, steadily approaching 200,000 views.

Mr Vegas dropped a third clip from the album last weekend, for Own Leader, an autobiographical tune about the backlash he received for speaking up about issues related to the cultural appropriation of dancehall. Recorded on an update of the Steelie and Clevie rhythm for Tippa Lee and Rappa Robert’s 1980’s hit Nuh Trouble We, the song evokes a vintage dancehall sound.

“This was one of my favorite tracks as a kid,” reminisces Vegas. “I was happy to rework it because it’s representative of the dancehall era where beats had such great basslines you had no choice but to move when it was played!”