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Jamaican genre-crossing producer and vocalist Rvssian makes tracks designed for maximum club appeal, often blurring the lines between reggaeton, dancehall, and R&B. He first rose to acclaim working closely with dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel. Beginning with the 2010 song "Life Sweet," Rvssian and Kartel worked together on a string of hits, opening the door for Rvssian's production work to find a voice on songs by Shaggy, Sean Paul, Bad Bunny, and many other big names of dancehall, reggaeton, Latin rap, trap, and other intersecting genres. As founder of the Head Concussion Records label, Rvssian released multiple singles for Kartel as well as fostering new talent with artists like J Capri, Demarco, and Blak Ryno. Rvssian's production credits grew to include work with Juice WRLD, Cardi B, and Carlos Santana, and he continued to steadily release tracks of his own like 2021's wildly popular "Nostalgico" and 2024's "Santa."

Born in Kingston, Jamaica as Tarik Johnston, Rvssian grew up studying piano and drums and collecting dancehall and hip-hop cassettes. Interest in production took over around the time he finished high school, and the young beatmaker put off college, promising himself he would return to school if he didn't have success in music after giving it his all for a year. Things immediately took off for Rvssian, who received moderate interest from his first track, "Liberty Riddim," which materialized in 2008. It was 2010's "Life Sweet" featuring Vybz Kartel that became a huge hit, and the floodgates opened from there.

Up until that point, Johnston was going under the moniker "RUSSIAN," but he modified his artist name to "Rvssian" so it would be easier to search for online. He continued a string of successful singles with Vybz Kartel, slowing down only somewhat when Kartel was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for the murder of Clive Williams, in what was at that point the longest trial in Jamaican history. Rvssian issued a series of new songs with Kartel both while he was awaiting sentencing and after he was locked up, including "Hi" in 2013 and "Kremlin" in 2017. During this time Rvssian also relocated to outside of Miami, letting the city's bass-heavy sounds sink into new productions he crafted for Head Concussion signees J Capri and Konshens. Each year brought a steady clip of new appearances from Rvssian, with highlights including 2018's collaboration with J Balvin and Farruko, "Ponle," and his feature on Becky G's 2019's hit "Next To You." In 2019 Rvssian would produce a track on Juice WRLD's third album Death Race for Love, as well as the French Montana song "Writing on the Wall," which featured cameos from Post Malone and Cardi B. Before 2019 was over, Rvssian teamed up with Tyga, YG, and Carlos Santana for work on the song "Mamacita." The next few years saw Rvssian doing production work and guest features on new singles alongside Lil Tjay, Anuel AA, Shenseea, and many others. In 2021 he worked with Chris Brown and Rauw Alejandro on the song "Nostalgico," which was streamed over 100 million times in a matter of months. Later that year Rvssian returned with rappers Future and Lil Baby for the track "M&M." More singles followed, including 2022 collaborations with Sfera Ebbasta "Italiano Anthem" and "Mamma Mia," 2023's "Sixteen" with old friend Vybz Kartel and rapper Trippie Redd, and the 2024 smash hit "Santa," which was almost immediately streamed in the hundreds of millions. ~ TiVo Staff

Becoming a major player in dancehall with debut single "Brick Pan Brick," Jamaican musician Skillibeng built an international audience in the early 2020s with his trap-focused approach to the genre.

Born Emwah Warmington in St. Thomas, Jamaica, Skillibeng first started making music in high school before beginning his solo career while working at his father's company. A near-death encounter convinced the vocalist to commit to music full-time: Early tracks released in 2015 and 2016, "Skilli She Love" and "Bruk Up Party," took an electronically-led approach to the genre. But it was the 2019 hit "Brick Pan Brick" that would prove the artist's breakout moment. Encouraging hustling with its money-centric verses, the multi-million-streamed track found immediate success in Warmington's home country. From there, Skillibeng had a relentless release schedule, dropping 43 singles in 2020 along with his debut album The Prodigy. Among the highlights were his second major hit, "Mr. Universe," the Quenga collaboration "Not," and his third smash hit, "Crocodile Teeth," which got a remix by Nicki Minaj. In 2021, Skillibeng continued the rapid release pattern with 38 more singles, second album The Prodigy: Ladies Only, and third album Crocodile Teeth LP. As well as hits like "Coke" and the "Crocodile Teeth [Remix]," the artist took promising new directions alongside collaborators including Sleepy Hallow ("2 Sauce [Remix]"), Unknown T ("Wollan"), and Popcaan/Rich the Kid ("Rocket Launcher.") ~ David Crone