Charly Black, the dancehall singer whose “Gyal You a Party Animal” became an international hit in 2016, released “Tiralo Pa Ka” on Thursday. The track is a collaboration with both Play-N-Skillz — who are best known for rap hits (Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’”) but have also worked heavily in Latin music (Daddy Yankee, Yandel) — and DJ Kass, whose “Scooby Doo Pa Pa” single was inescapable for the majority of 2018. “Tiralo Pa Ka” is racing and bare-bones, with a keening siren that ratchets up tension. The beat is fierce and repetitive; Black’s melodies serve to soften the rhythmic barrage.
“Tiralo Pa Ka” is the lead single from Black’s debut album on Aftercluv, Universal Music Latin Entertainment’s dance division, which was launched in 2015. “We think dancehall is a global rhythm — everything uses so much influence from it,” said Pedro Guzman, the label’s svp, last year. “We have to prove wrong the systematic thing that we have a dancehall artist with one huge song and then the industry forgets about it.”
“Gyal You a Party Animal” is one of the few dancehall singles that streamed like crazy, which is heartening as Black prepares his album. “It’s a much more democratic world out there — there are not as many gatekeepers,” Guzman says. “You don’t have to count on major markets like the U.S. and the U.K. to make a song go global now. You can get smaller to mid-level markets: Start with Romania, Spain, Italy, then move on to France, Germany, and obviously Mexico and Brazil. With that combination, you can make a big impact.”