American electronic artist Skrillex’s Make it Bun Dem, featuring Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, has peaked as the top selling song on Billboard’s Digital Reggae Singles chart.
The Billboard Digital Reggae Singles chart comprises bestselling songs in the United States as calculated by sales tracker Nielsen Soundscan.
Make it Bun Dem has sold close to 320,000 downloads.
The track has reached number 58 on the UK Singles chart; number 27 in Australia; number 34 in Austria; number 15 in Belgium; number 48 in Sweden; and number 16 in New Zealand.
The song is one of four featuring reggae icon Bob Marley’s youngest son currently riding the Billboard Digital Reggae Singles chart. It joins Road to Zion and Patience (both with American rapper Nas), and the critically acclaimed Welcome to Jamrock.
Make it Bun Dem was released in 2011 as an instrumental and re-recorded with vocals from Welcome to Jamrock, which placed in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Songs of the Decade listing.
The present version made its debut last year and was followed by a music video released in September on Skrillex’s official YouTube channel. Make it Bun Dem also appears in the 2012 game Far Cry 3.
Skrillex was formerly lead singer of the band From First to Last with which he recorded two albums before opting for a solo career in 2007. The 25-year-old is a native of California.
Damian Robert Nesta “Junior Gong” Marley, 34, is a three-time Grammy Award winning reggae artist who has been performing since the age of 13.
At the 2009 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock, making him the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night.
The album sold 86,000 copies in its first week of release, and was eventually certified gold after selling 500,000 copies in the United States Other notable singles from the album include “The Master Has Come Back”, “Road to Zion” featuring Nas, and “Khaki Suit” featuring Bounty Killer and Eek-A-Mouse.
