# Alkaline (musician)

Earlan Bartley (born December 19, 1993), better known as Alkaline, is a Jamaican dancehall and reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica. 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. 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 stage as an opener on July 25, 2013. In September of that year, he made a collaboration with dancehall artist Spice on the single "Only Ting Mi Want". Alkaline ended that year with a performance and first visit to Limón, Costa Rica on December 15, 2013.
Alkaline began the year of 2014 with his "Live Mi Life" concert on January 31 at Constant Spring, Jamaica. 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, North America, and Europe

### 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 September 30, 2015, and "Champion Boy" on October 30, 2015, which were both featured on the New Level Unlocked Album. The album was released on March 25, 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's "10 Best Reggae Albums of 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. 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 November 11, 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 given the fact that he didn't perform for a long time in his home country.
After his album tour, on March 25, 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, 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, Reggae Sumfest 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 August 10, 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 at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park August 12, 2018.
On September 8, 2018, Alkaline brought his second New Rules show to Queens, New York, 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 Grand Theft Auto V with the "iFruit Radio" soundtrack. He made his first appearance on the Afro Nation festival in Accra, Ghana December 30, 2019.
On February 12, 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 May 14, 2021, with the lead single "Ocean Wave" which was publish on March 6, 2020. After the first week the album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard’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 Billboard's Emerging Artists that seeks to highlight the top performing and rising acts.
On March 27, 2022, Alkaline headlined his third New Rules Festival at the Miramar Regional Amphitheater in Miami, Florida, with featuring acts like Mavado, Kranium and Wayne Wonder.
On June 22, 2022, Alkaline had his music featured on Givenchy's Men’s Spring Summer 2023 RTW Show in Paris, France, which was directed by fashion designer Matthew M. Williams. In the same year on July 2, 2022, Alkaline returned his New Rules Festival to Kingston, Jamaica at the national stadium car park.
His fifth EP The Ripple EFFX was released on December 9, 2022, and went on to win EP of the Year at the very first annual Caribbean Music Awards on August 31, 2023.

### 2023–present: Givenchy Campaign

On January 9, 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 in the city of Mount Vernon on September 3, 2023, with featured performing acts like Mavado, Charly Black, Skinny Fabulous and 450.

## Philanthropy

In May 2014, Alkaline donated $200,000 JMD each to two financially impoverished female cancer patients in Jamaica to further progress their treatments from the tumorous disease.
In March 2020 During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alkaline and New Era Productions team donated cleaning agents and disinfectant to the Maxfield Park Children's Home in Kingston, Jamaica.
On June 23, 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 Kingston, Jamaica.

## Controversies
### Corneal Tattoo

When Alkaline first appeared on the Jamaican dancehall 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. He caused quite the stir as he claimed to have Corneal tattooing in his eyeballs. Lauded as a publicity stunt 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 lenses that would cover his cornea.

## Discography
### Albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | US Reggae | US Heat. | US Sale. |
| New Level Unlocked | Released: 25 March 2016 Label: DJ Frass Records Formats: CD, digital download, Streaming | 1 | — | — |
| Top Prize | Released: 14 May 2021 Label: Autobamb Records Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 2 | 19 | 56 |

### Mixtapes

| Title | Mixtape details |
| Mixtape | Released: 29 July 2014 Format: Digital download, CD Label: Tad's Record |
| Raw as Eva | Released: 6 August 2014 Format: Digital download, streaming Label: Notnice Records |
| Showcase | Released: 20 January 2015 Format: Digital download, streaming Label: Tad’s Record |

### EPs

| Title | EP details |
| 123 EP | Released: 25 February 2014 Format: Digital download Label: Tad's Record |
| Gone Away - EP | Released: 1 April 2014 Format: Digital download Label: Tad's Record |
| F*ck You | Released: 8 July 2014 Format: Digital download Label: Tad's Record |
| Ride or Die | Released: 20 January 2015 Format: Digital download, streaming Label: DJ Frass Records |
| The Ripple EFFX - EP | Released: 9 December 2022 Format: Digital download, streaming Label: Autobamb Records |

### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with selected certifications, showing year released and album name :
| Year | Single | Album | Certifications |
| Year | Single | Album | 2014 | "Press Play" (Remix) (Rkade ft. Beenie Man & Alkaline) | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | "That Love" (Remix) (Shaggy ft. Alkaline) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2017 | "Formula" (Remix) (French Montana ft. Alkaline) | Jungle Rules |
| 2017 | "Txtin’" (WSTRN ft. Alkaline) | Non-album single | BPI: Silver |
| 2018 | "Nonchalant" (A Boogie wit da Hoodie ft. Alkaline) | International Artist |
| 2018 | "Fuego" (Keith Sweat ft. Roi Chip Anthony, Ray Fade, Alkaline & Akon) | Playing For Keeps |
| 2018 | "My Girl Remix" (Chip ft. Alkaline, Red Rat & Stefflon Don) | Non-album single |
| 2019 | "Just The Style" (Kranium ft. Alkaline) | Midnight Sparks |
| 2019 | "Rich N Comfortable" (Star Captyn ft. Alkaline) | Non-album single |
| 2019 | "No Negative Vibes" (Walshy Fire ft. Alkaline & Runtown) | Walshy Fire Presents: ABENG |
| 2020 | "Incognito" (Stalk Ashley ft. Alkaline) | Non-album single |

### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name :
| Year | Single | Album |
| Year | Single | Album | 2013 | “Only Thing Mi Want” (with Spice) | Non-album singles |
| 2014 | “Gyal Bruk Out (Remix)” (Featuring Japanese) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2014 | “Love Doctor” (with Anju Blaxx) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2014 | “Queng Dem” (with Anju Blaxx) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2015 | “Above Dem” (with Mavado & I-Octane) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2015 | “More Than Happy” (with Anju Blaxx) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2015 | “Nice Suh” (with Anju Blaxx) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | “Company” (with Anju Blaxx) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | “ATM (Remix)” (Featuring Shatta Wale) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | “Farewell” (with Mavado) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2017 | “Gyalis Pro” (with Sean Paul) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2017 | “Extra Lesson (Remix)” (Featuring Chip & Kojo Funds) | | | | Non-album singles |
| 2018 | “Mamacita” (Featuring Justin Quiles) | Road to Success |
| 2018 | "Fine Whine" (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2018 | "Black Heart" (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2019 | “Eva High” (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2019 | “Fulla Vibez” (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2019 | “Jealousy” (with Mavado & Jahmiel) | Non-album singles |
| 2020 | “Riches” (Featuring Knaxx, Sashie Cool & Star Captyn) | Non-album singles |
| 2020 | “Gladdest Night” (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2020 | “Overseas” (with Serena Rigacci) (Featuring Famous Dex) | Non-album singles |
| 2022 | “Static” (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2022 | "Profile" (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2023 | “First Touch” (with Black Shadow) | Non-album singles |
| 2024 | “Wul Mine” (with Knaxx) | Non-album singles |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2014 | MOBO Awards | Best Reggae Act | Himself | Nominated |
| 2016 | 21st Hapilos Digital Music Awards | Song of The Year | "On Fleek (Love Yuh Everything)" | Won |
| 2016 | MOBO Awards | Best Reggae Act | Himself | Nominated |
| 2017 | 21st Hapilos Digital Music Awards | Top Male Artist | Himself | Won |
| 2017 | 21st Hapilos Digital Music Awards | Most Streamed Artist | Himself | Won |
| 2017 | 21st Hapilos Digital Music Awards | Most Downloaded Artist | Himself | Won |
| 2017 | 21st Hapilos Digital Music Awards | Most Streamed Single | "Afterall" | Won |
| 2017 | MOBO Awards | Best Reggae Act | Himself | Nominated |
| 2018 | International Reggae and World Music Awards | Entertainer of the Year | Himself | Won |
| 2018 | International Reggae and World Music Awards | Best Song | "Afterall" | Won |
| 2018 | International Reggae and World Music Awards | Best Male Dancehall Artist | Himself | Won |
| 2023 | Caribbean Music Awards | EP of the Year (Dancehall) | The Ripple EFFX - EP | Won |
| 2024 | Caribbean Music Awards | Video of the Year (Dancehall) | "Boss" | Nominated |