Alkaline

Born in Kingston under the name Earlan Bartley, Alkaline rose to prominence in the early 2010s on the Jamaican music scene with a dancehall approach focused on the voice, dark melodies and a phrasing often more restrained than demonstrative. Active since 2011, he has developed a repertoire blending contemporary dancehall and reggae, marked by crisp productions, club rhythms and writing that alternates between confrontational tracks, more emotive titles and observations on daily life. His first singles circulated while he was still a student, before several releases in 2013 and 2014 established him on the local scene and in Caribbean diasporas. Alkaline then expanded his collaborations, notably with Spice, Sean Kingston, Mavado, Sean Paul, Shaggy and WSTRN, while keeping a career largely built around his own tracks and his label. His first album, New Level Unlocked, appeared in 2016, followed by Top Prize in 2021, then the EP The Ripple EFFX in 2022. Parallel to his discographic releases, Alkaline developed New Rules, a series of events under his name presented in Jamaica, New York, Miami, London or Toronto, a sign of a lasting anchor between Kingston and the international Caribbean scenes.