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Eight albums have debuted on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart this year and Masicka now leads the field with Forever Reign debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart dated August 29, 2026.
Masicka has become the first male dancehall artist this decade to have his first three studio albums debut in the Top 5 of the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
438 — No. 2 (2021)
Generation of Kings — No. 2 (2023)
Forever Reign — No. 4 (2026)
Forever Reign surpasses The Elovaters’ Shark Belly Motel, which debuted at No. 5 and previously held the distinction of having the year’s highest-charting new reggae release. Shark Belly Motel debuted at No. 5 on the chart dated May 30, 2026.
It also becomes the highest charting dancehall album in 2026, ranking above Vybz Kartel’s God & Time, which debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the chart dated June 20.
Buju Banton’s Too Too Bad, released through Gargamel Music and VP Records, debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart dated August 1, 2026.
The album fell to No. 10 during its second week before exiting the ranking, giving it a two-week chart run.
Iration also secured a Top 10 entry with its 11th studio album, Where It All Began. Released on May 1, the project debuted at No. 8 on the chart dated May 16.
Grammy-nominated reggae artist Protoje reached No. 9 with The Art of Acceptance, released through Ineffable Records.
The album debuted and peaked at No. 9, spending one week on the chart.
Alkaline’s NPT debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart dated April 4.
The year’s first debut arrived on the chart dated March 21, when Rebelution entered at No. 9 with Live in St. Augustine.
Although the live album was originally released in 2022 and is therefore not considered a new 2026 release, renewed streaming and sales activity propelled it onto the Billboard Reggae Albums chart for the first time this year.
Highest-charting 2026 releases so far
- Masicka — Forever Reign: No. 4
- The Elovaters — Shark Belly Motel: No. 5
- Vybz Kartel — God & Time: No. 6
- Buju Banton — Too Too Bad: No. 8
- Iration — Where It All Began: No. 8
- Protoje — The Art of Acceptance: No. 9
- Alkaline — NPT: No. 10
In January 2020, Billboard introduced rule changes that directly affected reggae music. The company discontinued the Reggae Digital Song Sales chart, which had allowed individual reggae and dancehall downloads to chart, and changed its album-chart methodology in a way that strengthened the position of consistently streamed catalog releases.
Billboard also introduced restrictions on merchandise and concert-ticket bundles later in 2020, preventing artists from using those packages to increase reported album sales.
The last newly released album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart was Stick Figure’s seventh studio album, Wisdom, in September 2022. The album ended Legend: The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ 140-week reign atop the chart.
According to Luminate, Wisdom earned 13,900 album-equivalent units during its opening week following its September 9, 2022 release. That total included 9,700 pure album sales and approximately 5.5 million on-demand streams in the United States, demonstrating the level of commercial performance required to dethrone reggae’s most enduring catalog title.
English (US) ·