Charly Black says he’s at ‘CROSSWORDS' with label - Releases debut album after 14 years in music

Despite releasing his long-awaited album Rio Bueno last Friday, Charly Black did not list the milestone as the number one highlight of his 14-year career.

He told THE STAR, “I have achieved so many things in my career. I cannot put any one of them as the number one, and I’m still working as hard as ever.”

After earning platinum and diamond certifications for his single Gyal Yuh A Party Animal, the dancehall recording artiste inked a multi-album recording deal with record label giant Universal Music in 2017. He then embarked on making his dream a reality, to put together his debut album which doubled as a tribute to Charly Black’s home town. The album, released under Aftercluv Dancelab, Universal Music Latin America’s dance music division, to which Charly Black is signed, peaked at number two on the iTunes Reggae and Modern Dancehall charts.

Originally, Charly Black wanted it to be 15 tracks, but with limited time, opted to leave four songs off the official list, including a collaboration with Grammy Award-winning artiste Shaggy. When asked what will happen to this particular song, he said, “We will definitely be putting out the unused tracks at some point, but we are at a crossroads with the label now.”

He does not believe that releasing an album after 14 years has impacted his career negatively. “It’s really a singles-driven business,” he said. The entertainer also prides himself on being a strong believer in nothing happening before its time.

“As it says in Ecclesiastes 3, ‘for everything, there is a season.’ God is always in control, so everything happens when it is supposed to. I have had massive success with Party Animal and other songs, such as [2017’s] You’re Perfect. So not dropping an album doesn’t seem to have impacted my career at all. I signed to Universal Music a couple years ago and yes, the album should’ve come out previously, but there were a lot of changes happening at the label, and that delayed everything,” Charly Black said.

He continued, “There are a lot of things I have had to fight for in that situation. So, myself and management are working out the way forward now. I will talk about that whole situation in the future also, just because it hasn’t been a great experience.”

Despite the buzz created from his 2021 EP, titled So Many Reasons, a fusion of Caribbean and Latin American dance genres, it was not submitted for Grammy consideration. There are plans, however, to submit Rio Bueno next year for consideration for the 65th annual Grammy Awards in 2023.

“It’s most artistes’ dream to win a Grammy, and as I say, God is in control. Albums are a body of work, so it was just the time to drop one; and I wanted it to be a real authentic dancehall album to reflect Charly Black, my growth and my love for the genre. As always, I will try to make the best music I can. If music lovers and my fans love it, then that’s all the award I need,” Charly Black said.