Earlan Bartley (born 19 December 1993), better known as Alkaline, is a Jamaican

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

musician from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. Known for entering the scene with an alluring perception heavily projected to his Jamaican audience and utilizing his stage name to represent the opposite principles of his personality correlating the dichotomy of positive and negative. His music style captures the core of the dancehalls sound whilst incorporating his unique artistry.

Early life

Earlan was born in Kingston's Victoria Jubilee Hospital. He attended Ardenne High School and studied Media and Communication at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

. During his time in high school is when he started to have the determination for music. With the support of his close friends he visited local recording studios after school whenever he had the chance.

Career

2011–2014: Early career

Bartley began recording at the age of 16 and using the stage name Alkaline. When he was still in school, he made songs like "Proof", "Mi Love Woman", "Reflections" and "Missing You" creating long-term predictions and expressing his teenage experiences while making music videos on school grounds and in the streets of Jamaica with his close friends. By 2013 he started to release a plethora of songs under the Cahban Rekords production. He made his first appearance on the

Reggae Sumfest Reggae Sumfest is the largest music festival in Jamaica and the Caribbean, taking place each year in mid-July in Montego Bay.Johnson, Richard (2014)All Set for Sumfest, '' Jamaica Observer'', 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014 Sumfest started in 1 ...

stage as an opener on 25 July 2013. In September of that year, he made a collaboration with dancehall artist

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

on the single "Only Ting Mi Want". Alkaline ended that year with a performance and first visit to Limón, Costa Rica on 15 December 2013. Alkaline began the year of 2014 with his "Live Mi Life" concert on 31 January at

Constant Spring, Jamaica Constant Spring is a residential neighbourhood in the north of Kingston, Jamaica. Constant Spring plantation Constant Spring plantation was one of the Regimental Plantations. It was developed by Lt.-Colonel Henry Archibold during the military o ...

. He eventually began working with Notnice Records, UIM Records and Zj Chrome becoming popular in Jamaica with a series of singles like "123", "High Suh", "Bruk Out", "Things Mi Love" and "Live Life" but the single he was very well known for was "Move Mountains", He went on to feature those singles on multiple EPs and Mixtapes. His early catalog propelled him to do consecutive shows around the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

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, and

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2015–2016: Breakthrough with ''New Level Unlocked''

In mid 2015 Alkaline pushed himself to the international market with his hit singles "On Fleek (Love Yuh Everything)" and "Ride on Me (Remix)" featuring Sean Kingston while consistently working on his debut album ''New Level Unlocked.'' He released two other hit singles that year which was "ATM" on 30 September 2015, and "Champion Boy" on 30 October 2015, which were both featured on the ''New Level Unlocked'' Album. The album was released on 25 March 2016, under DJ Frass Records, going on to top the ''Billboard Reggae Charts'' in April which stood for 18 weeks, making him the first dancehall deejay to have a number one album on the charts in five years. ''New Level Unlocked'' was selected at number 3 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s "10 Best Reggae Albums of 2016".Kenner, Rob (2016)
Billboard's 10 Best Reggae Albums of 2016: Critic's Picks
, ''

'', 23 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016 He also had multiple hit singles that year with "Formula", "My Side of The Story", "Block and Delete", "After All", "12 PM (Living Good), "Spoil You", "Extra Lesson" and "Badness It Name". In September 2016 he was nominated for a MOBO Award for the second time in the Best Reggae Act category.Jackson, Kevin (2016)
Spice among 5 vying for MOBO Best Reggae Act
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', 21 September 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016 His "Champion Boy" single was used in an advertising campaign for the Red Stripe Premier League. With the crew name Vendetta which he uses to categorize his fans, made the launch of a clothing line considered as Detta Gear. He was also featured on a remix of Shaggy's "That Love" on 11 November 2016''.''

2017–2018: New Rules

Alkaline was considered one of the young hot acts in the dancehall space, not only because of his extreme talent but his huge controversial relevancy. For a certain period of time, he was very distant from Jamaica focusing more on the international scene. Over time there were critics claiming that he switched up on

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

given the fact that he didn't perform for a long time in his home country. After his album tour, on 25 March 2017, Alkaline decided to prove the critics wrong by creating his own show called ''New Rules Festival'' which he brought to his home country. It quickly became one of the most anticipated shows of the year with artists like Mavado, Shaggy, I-Octane,

Tarrus Riley Omar "Tarrus" Riley, Order of Distinction, CD (born April 26, 1979, Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States) is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement.Kenner, Rob (21 August 2009"Reggae Singer With a Leg ...

, Jahmiel and many more at Jamaica's national stadium car park. It boasted one of the biggest turnouts on a Jamaican stage show and many attendees would go on to say ''"New Rules"'' was one of dancehall's greatest shows ever and would definitely go down in history. In July of that year, Alkaline attended Jamaica's Biggest annual stage show,

at which he hadn't performed since 2014; making a huge come back as one of the main performers as he featured the legendary Dean Fraser. On 10 August 2018 Alkaline made an appearance on FOX 5 News New York promoting the 13th annual Caribbean concert as the headline act interviewed by morning host Rosanna Scotto. The performance was held in

Jackson, New Jersey Jackson Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A portion of the township is located within the Pinelands National Reserve. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 58,544, an increas ...

Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located approximately southeast of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelph ...

amusement park 12 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, Alkaline brought his second ''New Rules'' show to

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, in Amazura.

2019–2022: iFruit Radio, ''Top Prize,'' Givenchy Feature, New Rules Festival's and ''The Ripple EFFX''

In early December Alkaline's 2019 single "With the Thing" was featured on the

Video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

with the ''"iFruit Radio" soundtrack.'' He made his first appearance on the Afro Nation festival in Accra, Ghana 30 December 2019. On 12 February 2021, Alkaline announced his second studio album ''Top Prize.'' With the announcement of his sophomore album, he made an appearance on Audiomack making him the first Jamaican dancehall artist to be featured on the Fine Tuned series. The album was published on 14 May 2021, with the lead single "Ocean Wave" which was publish on 6 March 2020. After the first week the album peaked at No. 2 on the ''

''’s Reggae Albums Charts, No. 19 on the Heat Seekers Albums Charts for sale ranks and No. 56 on Top Current Album Sales which gained him a spot at No. 37 on ''

's'' Emerging Artists that seeks to highlight the top performing and rising acts. On 27 March 2022, Alkaline headlined his third ''New Rules Festival'' at the Miramar Regional Amphitheater in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, with featuring acts like Mavado,

Kranium Kemar Donaldson (born 12 August 1993), known professionally as Kranium, is a Jamaican dancehall singer known for his 2013 hit single "Nobody Has to Know" which gave him international recognition and led him to the Atlantic Records record label. ...

and

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. His most popular single is the 2003 hit " No Letting Go". Biography Early life Wonder was born in Buff Bay, Portla ...

. On 22 June 2022, Alkaline had his music featured on Givenchy's Men’s Spring Summer 2023 RTW Show in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, which was directed by fashion designer Matthew M. Williams. In the same year on 2 July 2022, Alkaline returned his ''New Rules Festival'' to

at the national stadium car park. His fifth EP ''The Ripple EFFX'' was released on 9 December 2022 and went on to win EP of the Year at the very first annual Caribbean Music Awards on 31 August 2023.

2023–present: Givenchy Campaign, New Rules Festival's

On 9 January 2023, Alkaline was partnered on Givenchy's spring-summer 2023 men’s global advertising campaign wearing the latest collection with photography from Matthew M. Williams. It was announced that Alkaline will serve as the face of the SS23 campaign. The fifth staging of the New Rules Festival returned to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in the city of

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

on 3 September 2023, with featured performing acts like Mavado,

Charly Black Desmond Méndez (born 6 April 1980), better known as Charly Black, alternatively known as Charly Blacks, and originally known as Tony Mentol, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, selector and singjay. He is best known for his track "Gy ...

, Skinny Fabulous and 450. Alkaline attended his first show in the year of 2025 in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on 30 March where he was awarded by Liz Miranda, a representative of the

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

honoring him with a

citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

in contributions to Jamaican music and culture while recognizing his global influence within the

Dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

genre. While concluding an eight-year hiatus, Alkaline held the sixth staging of his New Rules Festival in the United Kingdom, London making its debut in the country at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

on April 17, 2025. The show featured young dancehall acts such as Rajahwild and Armanii with a surprise performance by the

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

collective group WSTRN.

Philanthropy

In May 2014, Alkaline donated $200,000 JMD each to two financially impoverished female

cancer patient Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnorma ...

s in Jamaica to further progress their treatments from the tumorous disease. In March 2020 During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Alkaline and New Era Productions team donated

cleaning agent Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances (usually liquids, powders, sprays, or granules) used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing ...

s and

disinfectant A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than ...

to the Maxfield Park Children's Home in

. On 23 June 2022 Alkaline and New Era Productions donated $1 million JMD to the Jamaica Society for the blind at the media launch for the second staging of the ''New Rules Festival'' in

Controversies

Corneal Tattoo

When Alkaline first appeared on the Jamaican

scene in 2013 he became known for his distinctive look and style, with the bleached skin and blond dreadlocks but the most controversial was his alleged tattooed eyes, which prompted others to follow suit.Bassil, Ryan (2014)
Jamaican Dancehall Artists are Blinding Themselves by Getting Eyeball Tattoos
, vice.com, 20 January 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2016 He caused quite the stir as he claimed to have Corneal tattooing in his eyeballs. Lauded as a

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utiliz ...

by the Jamaican public, Alkaline received much backlash for the controversial move but also gained a heavy music following. An ongoing theme in much of his breakout music was the year "2016", which generated much intrigue as he never explicitly stated the year's meaning or significance. He would keep up the charade for about 3 years, until he finally revealed the "tattoos" to be nothing more than a stunt. As the Jamaican public ushered in the year of 2016. He soon revealed that the significance of 2016 lay in the fact that he was giving himself until that year to have his music speak for itself, and no longer require publicity stunts for any form of media coverage. This prompted the release of his debut album, ''New Level Unlocked''. He has since halted wearing the black

contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

es that would cover his cornea.

Discography

Albums

Mixtapes

EPs

As featured artist

As lead artist

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alkaline 1993 births Living people Jamaican dancehall musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica