Toppa Top 10: Ten Jamaicans Who Topped the Billboard Hot 100

Words by LargeUp Crew

Jamaica has had a presence in American pop music since Harry Belafonte first brought the songs of banana-boat workers in Port Antonio to the masses in the mid ‘50s. But just a small handful of Jamaican artists have made it to that elusive position atop the gold standard of all music charts, the Billboard Hot 100. And the ones who have—and haven’t—might surprise you. (Belafonte himself never made it, even with “Day-O.”)

This week, Clarendon-born singer OMI, hardly a household name in Jamaica himself, became the latest yardie to attain the coveted position with “Cheerleader,” culminating a years-long rise that saw him top numerous other charts worldwide. In recognition of this accomplishment, here’s a look at every Jamaican artist to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100, from 1974 through today.

Click here to start the list.

Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting (1974)


This wacky 1974 single was performed by Carl Douglas who despite spending most of his career in the UK, was actually born in Kingston, Jamaica. The song was originally slated to be a B-side and was recorded in only two takes. Initially the single experienced poor sales, but it got a boost from heavy club rotation and the dawn of the “chopsocky” film craze which helped the track top the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of December 7th and 14th and sell 11 million records worldwide. —Saxon Baird

Maxi Priest – Close To You (1990)

Maxi Priest, who was born to Jamaican parents in the U.K., saw the lead single from his album Bonifide top the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for one week, on October 6, 1990. Known for his R&B-tinged reggae fusion, this hit helped cement his status as an international pop star following a handful of lesser, but perhaps equally memorable hits, like his covers of Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” and Rod Stewart’s “Some Guys Have All The Luck.” Though he never had another No. 1 hit, Maxi has remained a player in the reggae world, from his 1996 collaboration with Shaggy, “That Girl” to his well-received 2014 studio album Easy To Love on VP Records. —Kieran Meadows

Ini Kamoze – Here Comes the Hotstepper (1994)


Ini Kamoze packs more memorable, sing-along-lines and refrains into this 1994 hip-hop remix smash than there is “juice” in “a strawberry.” But the classic quotables (“Naaa nanana naaa nana na naaaa,” “Murde-rah!,” “I know what Bo don’t know/Touch them up and go, wuh-oh”) only partly explain why this comeback track from the mid ‘80s reggae star topped the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for two weeks in December 1994. Producer Salaam Remi’s timely blend of hip-hop and reggae definitely had something to do with it; he told us the story behind the track back in 2012—read it here. “Hotstepper” was Ini’s only US hit, however, his 1984 song “World A Music” was sampled in Damian Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock,” which reached No. 55 in 2005. — Kieran Meadows

The Notorious BIG — Hypnotize (1997)
Mo Money, Mo Problems (1997)

Biggie’s debut album Ready to Die was stacked with classic hits like “Juicy” and “Big Poppa,” and he even reached No. 2 with “One More Chance,” after it was remixed by Trackmasters. But it wasn’t until his sophomore effort, Life After Death, that he reached the Hot 100’s peak position, with both “Hypnotize” (May 3, 1997) and “Mo Money, Mo Problems” (Aug. 30, 1997). While every Biggie Smalls fan knows about the greatest rapper of all-time’s Jamaican heritage, few are aware of Life After Death’s other Caribbean connection: much of the production for the album was done in Trinidad, at Caribbean Sound Basin studio in Port of Spain. —Jesse Serwer

Shaggy—It Wasn’t Me (2000)
Angel (2001)

Jamaica’s only living diamond-selling artist, Shaggy sold more than 10 million copies of his 2000 album, Hot Shot. The massively successful LP also spawned No. 1 singles practically back to back, in early 2001. The career-defining “It Wasn’t Me” (featuring Rikrok) topped the Hot 100 on Jan. 24 and Feb. 1, while “Angel,” with Shaggy’s long-time sidekick Rayvon (and produced by veteran dancehall producer/selector Sting International), spent one week at No. 1 on March 31. After a decade-long absence from the pop charts, Mr. Boombastic is back on the Hot 100 with “I Need Your Love” featuring Mohombi, Faydee and Costi.

Sean Paul—Get Busy (2003)
Temperature (2006)

The most visible dancehall artist during what was easily the genre’s commercial peak, Sean Paul has more No. 1 hits than any other Jamaican artist. Dutty Paul hit No. 1 twice on his own, with “Get Busy” in May of 2003, and then again with “Temperature” which hit No. 1 for one week, on April Fool’s Day, 2005. But his biggest hit was as a featured artist on Beyonce’s “Baby Boy,” which stayed at No. 1 for an incredible nine weeks during October and November of 2003.  —Jesse Serwer

Mims-This is Why I’m Hot (2007)

New York rapper Mims seemingly came out of nowhere in early 2007 with the boastful “This is Why I’m Hot.” The track jumped from No. 32 to No. 1 on March 10, 2007, one of the first singles to reach that position on the strength of digital sales. Though hailing from the largely Dominican enclave of Washington Heights, Mims’ family background is purely Jamaican, explaining the natural, hip-hop/reggae fusion of his“This is Why I’m Hot (Blackout Remix)” featuring Junior Reid and Cham. Though generally considered of the biggest one-hit wonders of the 2000s, he’s collaborated with a handful of other fellow yardies, including Barrington Levy, Mr. Vegas and Ky-mani Marley, albeit with considerably less success than “This Is Why I’m Hot.” -Jesse Serwer

Sean Kingston-Beautiful Girls (2007)

Born in Miami, but raised partly in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Sean Kingston hit #1 in 2007 with his debut single, “Beautiful Girls.” The track, masterminded by super-producer JR Rotem (who discovered Kingston on Myspace) topped the Hot 100 on August 11th, and stayed there four weeks. Fun fact: the seemingly innocuous lyrics from the single “you had me suicidal” caused a bit of controversy, and the line was removed on MTV, leading to  “you got me in denial.” Kingston’s grandfather is Jack Ruby, producer of Burning Spear’s “Marcus Garvey,” among other ‘70s reggae classics.—Saxon Baird

OMI-Cheerleader (2015)

Molded by Clifton “Specialist” Dillon, the mastermind behind Shabba Ranks, Patra and Mad Cobra’s crossover success in the early ’90s, OMI first released “Cheerleader,” his debut single in 2011. He released a video for the track in 2012, and that’s when it caught our attention; we featured OMI at No. 2 in our list of the Top 10 Artists to Watch for 2013, right behind Chronixx. It took two more years for the track to fully crossover, only then after being remixed by German producer Felix Jaehn. Having already conquered charts across Europe, including four weeks spent at No. 1 in the UK, “Cheerleader” finally made its way to the States this spring, climbing this week to No. 1. —Jesse Serwer

Bob Marley—I Shot the Sheriff  (1974)*

Bob Marley never had a No. 1 single as an artist. Amazingly, the only Wailers song to ever reach the singles chart in the US was “Roots, Rock, Reggae,” which peaked at No. 51 in 1976. But his “I Shot the Sheriff” did hit No. 1 in September, 1974—when it was covered by UK rock legend Eric Clapton. Speaking of covers of legendary Jamaican singers, Blondie also hit No. 1 on January 31, 1981 with “The Tide is High,” originally recorded by the Paragons, with John Holt on lead. (He also wrote the song). —Jesse Serwer

+1: UB40

UB40, the British band that made it OK to be a (mostly) white reggae group actually counted two members of Jamaican heritage, in Terrence “Astro” Wilson, and bassist Earl Falconer. In fact, UB40’s membership was quite multi-cultural, with Irish and Yemeni members as well. The reggae-pop powerhouse from Birmingham, England, found themselves top of the Billboard Hot 100 twice, with a pair of covers the reggae treatment. Their first was “Red Red Wine,” a Neil Diamond cut later covered inna rocksteady style by Tony Tribe. Nearly 15 years later, UB40 put their own reggae-fusion spin on Tribe’s version, and re-worked it again in 1988 featuring a new toast Astro had performed live a few months prior for Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert. The reworked single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in October, a spot the band would find again in 1993 for seven weeks with their cover of Elvis Presley ’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” —Saxon Baird