Nearly three years after he burst onto the scene with the easy-riding, Ireland Boss-produced “V6,” ascendant Jamaican dancehall star Malie Donn is finally ready to unleash his debut studio album, The Golden Child.
The 20-track set, which lands on Sept. 4 via VP Records, marks a crowning moment for the artist born Kymalie Hylton. Born and raised in the Waterford neighborhood of Portmore in Jamaica, Malie Donn, 25, is the latest inheritor of a remarkable dancehall lineage. Several genre luminaries came of age in Portmore, including Popcaan, Blak Ryno and Masicka. Chief among those artists is, of course, King of Dancehall and Billboard cover star Vybz Kartel, whose music Donn’s father used to play in the house.
“I grew up around a lot of musical elements in Waterford, which is where people like Vybz Kartel grew up,” he tells Billboard. “I used to see Masicka and so many other young artists above us, so I found myself making music starting from [banging] beats on desks. That’s when I found out I had a true passion for music. As a yute growing up in that era, Kartel played a big part in my views on music and how I go about [making it].”
After officially deciding to end his collegiate track and field career, Donn spent the beginning of the 2020s releasing a steady stream of standalone singles that culminated in early local hits like 2022’s “Hennergy” and “Crook.” “V6,” which steadily went viral thanks to its laid-back riddim and Kartel-name-checking wordplay, arrived in February 2023, and by the end of the summer, he scored his breakthrough hit and earned his freedom after being detained in Barbados on allegations of sexual assault that were ultimately dismissed. At the close of 2023, Donn boasted an enviable collection of hits, including “Dragga,” “Cups Up,” “Little Miss Grippy” and “Dungeon.”
