THE DON DOMINATES SPOTIFY WITH 2 BILLION STREAMS!
(Picture: Sheikh Hamdun Jack Stan)
Combining the worlds of UK Grime, Jamaican Dancehall and, most recently, Afrobeats with her catchy bars and vocals, Stefflon Don is a force to be reckoned with. The Jamaican-British sensation has recently achieved a remarkable milestone by surpassing 2 billion streams on Spotify, solidifying her status as the UK and Jamaica’s most notable figures. She is the only British female rapper and Dancehall artist to have achieved this.
Stefflon Don's journey to 2 billion streams is a testament to her undeniable talent. Born Stephanie Victoria Allen in Birmingham, Stefflon Don burst onto the music scene with a unique blend of dancehall, hip-hop, and afrobeats influences.
Her ability to seamlessly fuse different genres has created a previously unheard-of lane during the late 2010s Afro-Swing era, which was heavily male-dominated. Her uniqueness and continual innovation as an artist since her beginnings on GRM Daily in 2014 gave her the momentum to cross over to the mainstream UK music scene and later captivate the attention and adoration of audiences worldwide since her mainstream debut with “Hurtin’ Me,” her 2017 collaboration with French Montana, which reached No. 7 on The Official Charts in the UK, and later remixed in the following year with Dancehall legends Popcaan, Sizzla and Sean Paul.
Stefflon Don is no stranger to male-dominated spaces, having roots in both Dancehall music and British Hip-Hop, two genres which have been historically dominated by male artists. Stefflon Don's achievement as the only female dancehall artist to amass 2 billion streams highlights impact on the genres. She takes her role as a female pioneer seriously, as she has said that “[she] would like to see more women in the UK rap scene.”
Her bold and unapologetic approach to music challenges traditional gender norms, especially in her 2018 hit song “Ding-A-Ling,” an anthem against unsolicited sexually explicit photos, where she asserts her dominance. Andrew Hanson has described her music as having a quality of “lewdness which matches any male Jamaican dancehall MC,” continuing the tradition of female artists speaking on topics which would previously have been societally taboo.
The versatility and global appeal of Stefflon Don’s music have contributed to her overall Spotify streaming figures of 2.6 Billion streams globally and 750,000 streams daily. Out of her 10 most streamed songs on the streaming platform, two are solo tracks, showing her strength as a solo and collaborative artist.
Throughout her career, Stefflon Don has been many artists’ first point of call for a hit collaboration or remix, such as MC Fioti, Jax Jones, Demi Lovato, Wiley, Idris Elba, Mariah Carey, Spice, Skepta, Skillibeng, Mavado, Davido, Jeremiah and fellow British female rapper, Ms. Banks. Her collaboration with the former, Bum Bum Tam Tam, constitutes 400 million streams alone, and 16 Shots, which is her most streamed solo song, boasts over 200 million streams on Spotify and 221 million views on YouTube after becoming a Korean TikTok dance phrase.
Stefflon Don’s journey to the top of the charts has not been without its fair share of controversies, as with many artists. Although she has had minor spats with Stylo G, Lisa Mercedez, Nicki Minaj, IAMDDB and Foxy Brown, her most notable clash emerged with Jamaican artist Jada Kingdom in January. A disagreement, where Jada Kingdom took offence to lyrics from Stefflon Don’s preview of a song on producer Rvssian’s Dutty Money Riddim, sparked a public feud that played out on social media. The rivalry, in which Burna Boy, Derrick Morgan, Mumma London and numerous other members of both parties’ families were implicated, has brought a resurgence of attention to both artists’ careers and split public attention.
Stefflon Don's solo work and collaborations have not only contributed to her meteoric rise but have also solidified her as a versatile artist capable of catering to an eclectic audience. While her successes are the most prominent facet of her career which propelled her to surpassing 2 billion streams on Spotify, her occasional musical clashes in the spirit of Dancehall competition ground her in both the Jamaican and British music scene. Her artistic impact supersedes numbers, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive future for the global music scene. WELL DONE.