Sekuence wants greater love for ‘Tu Pum Pum’ - Young artiste thought collab with Shaggy would have pushed song in Jamaica

Reggae/dancehall artiste Sekuence is puzzled by the relatively low support that the song, ' Tu Pum Pum', which features Shaggy, has been getting in Jamaica.

The song, a revival of Panamanian/Spanish/reggae artiste El General's late 1980s hit bearing the same title, has been making waves in the South American market.

"The song was marketed as a Latin song so more feedback was expected from the South American countries than the dancehall/reggae market. And while there is a barrier in terms of the language and reggaeton style, I believed for the fact that the great Grammy award-winning Shaggy is also on the record, that Jamaicans would have at least shown it some more love," the up-and-coming artiste told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Along with the MoBay-born and raised Sekuence, the song features Latin urban artiste Karol G from Colombia and Shaggy, as well as New York-based producer Emilio 'Track Starr' Bowens known by the stage name El Capitaan.

Released just more than a year ago, the track managed to sell 500,000 copies in the Latin market which Sekuence anticipated.

"The song might have not gotten to the ears of the people in Jamaica for several unknown reasons. It was sent out to most, if not all the local disc jockeys, but I believe because there's Spanish in it, they never played much mind to it," he said.

The single peaked at the number 11 on the Billboard Charts, and reached number one in some countries across Latin America, generating millions of streams on digital platforms like SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music.

It has racked up more than 47 million views on YouTube.

Shaggy said that too much importance has been placed on the opinions of the audience from which an artiste originates.

He said it was natural for an emerging artiste "but I am kind of used to it".

The Boombastic singer, who is currently on a US promotional tour for his Wa Gwaan?! album, said that there are many reggae artistes who were not as popular in Jamaica as they were on the global stages.

"There are songs that will never resonate until after they have gained popularity on other stages and that doesn't bother me," Shaggy said. "The song is a hybrid version of the original by El General, who I became friends with when we attended the Erasmus High School in Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn; I think he would also be pleased at its success."