Billboard released their end-of-year roundup of the Top Reggae Artists of 2007 with nothing shocking but definitely an interesting perspective. The Marley family pretty much owns the chart with Bob and Sons holding 4 spots! Bob Marley resides in the #2 spot on his own plus the #6 slot with The Wailers. Meanwhile, Stephen Marley rules #3 and Damian Marley sits next to him at #4. Sean Paul is in royal company between Damian and Bob in the #5 slot. The big surprises come from who is sitting at the top and who is missing from the list entirely. The ruling reggae artist of 2007 is someone I am barely aware of, but is apparently huge. Matisyahu, the Hasidic Jew from Pennsylvania, is the Top Rankin Reggae Artist of the year according to Billboard's deductions. (The decision is based on sales and downloads of the artists' music plus airplay in the US.) Matisyahu's 2006 album Youth was nominated for a Grammy in Best Reggae Album the same year it was released. Matisyahu- "Youth"Not sure if this counts as reggae. But then, Sean Kingston isn't really reggae, and neither is Sean Paul, so I guess Billboard doesn't have a strict definition of what reggae music is.http://www.myspace.com/matisyahuThe #9 hole is also held by a name I am not familiar with - Notch (reggaeton?). Hopefully a wise mogger will clue me in about this artist. The #7 slot is filled by Collie Buddz, who I am surprised made it on to this list, and the #8 and #10 spots are ruled by two of Jamaica's most controversial artists: Buju and Beenie. Buju Banton, the first artist to be targeted as a murder musician and founder/CEO of Gargamel Music holds the #8 spot while Beenie Man, another artist targeted as a murder musician and 2007's #1 drama queen, finishes off the chart at #10. I bet Beenie is not so pleased with coming in last, even though it is an honor to hit the top 10 at all. As part of his ongoing personal battles last year, Beenie threw a fit when Stone Love named Mavado the Top DJ of 2007. Beenie Man made a valid point that Mavado is a singer, not a deejay, and therefore shouldn't be eligible. The crowd rightfully put Beenie Man in his place by reminding him that he is the King of the Dancehall and therefore shouldn't be concerned about who is next on the list. Beenie Man's own work this year was ok, but his collaborations were PURE FIRE! Adding to the controversy surrounding his personal life, he made a steamy video with Barbee for her tune"Give It Up". Beenie Man also collaborated with Alicia Keys for her AMA performance of "No One" with Beenie, Jr Reid, Chaka Demus & Pliers. Here is the vid for "Give It Up":My biggest surprise with this chart is that Mavado isn't on it at all! He is so incredibly popular online and so many people have been discussing his music (as opposed to his antics) that I thought for sure he would beat out Sean Paul and leave Collie Buddz in the dust. How is this possible? Perhaps he is more famous for his live performances while his album is being downloaded for free and watched on youTube?The other surprise is that Buju didn't place higher. He's led a continuously successful music career and his 1998 album Inna Heights is about to be released as a fantastic 10th Anniversary Edition by VP Records. The deluxe CD/DVD collection will include the original album, with fully re-mastered audio, three bonus tracks and a DVD that features his live performance at Sumfest 2006 as well as music videos. Buju Banton performing 'Bad Boy'as seen on the Inna Heights 10th Anniversary CD/DVD:Inna Heights: 10th Anniversary Edition is released everywhere on January 22nd. Buju is also hinting at an album of new material on his my$pace page:BUJU BANTON - RASTA GOT SOUL (IN STORES SPRING 2008) Looking forward to that one for sure. I will watch for more info and post more when it breaks. Buju also spent 37 weeks in 2007 on the Top Reggae Albums chart for Too Bad and 6 weeks on the Hot 100 RnB & Hip-Hop chart for the album's biggest hit, "Driver A." He is currently entertaining Jamaica with his newest hits, "Tell Dem Don't Follow" and "Cowboys." You can listen to "Cowboys" on the Gargamel my$pace page and the video for "Driver A" can easily be found on youTube.http://myspace.com/bujubantonhttp://www.myspace.com/gargamelmusicincMore info on Buju Banton's successes in 2007The only thing I can recall Sean Paul releasing this year is his video for "Watch Dem Roll" which was so bad that I didn't even report it. The song is ok, but the vid was awful. If you want to see it for yourself, click over to its dailymotion page. I thought his collaboration with Eve on her song/video "Give It To Me" was much more interesting:

Billboard Year End Charts - Top Reggae Artists of 20071 - MATISYAHU2 - BOB MARLEY3 - STEPHEN MARLEY4 - DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLEY5 - SEAN PAUL6 - BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS7 - COLLIE BUDDZ8 - BUJU BANTON9 - NOTCH10-BEENIE MAN