Assassin Hits Billboard with New Collaboration

Dancehall artiste Assassin, aka Agent Sasco, has another reason to celebrate, as his latest international collaboration Blacker The Berry, with American rapper Kendrick Lamar has charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

The song, which appeared at number 86 last week, is Kendrick Lamar's second single from his album To Pimp A Butterfly. The album is a follow-up to his debut LP Good Kid M.A.A.d City, which was nominated for a Grammy and went on to sell over a million copies.

Blacker The Berry features an Assassin's verse, and sees the deejay using his wordplay skills, to tell a tale of African success. The song was released in Black History month and ruffled feathers in the United States music industry because of its strong message which tackles the issue of racism.

Steven J Horowitz of Billboard gave the song four-and-a-half stars out of five, writing that "Lamar swings at racial injustice, letting rage break his usual cool veneer."

Pitchfork Media named it Best New Track with reviewer Jayson Greene saying that the song "might be Lamar's most focused and upsetting performance."

Assassin was also commended by several music critics for his work on the song, Notably. Fader magazinerecently called the dancehall artiste "The new crossover King."

The magazine's article further stated; "Assassin's voice cuts through rhythms with a force befitting his name. His rugged flow (a big, booming, Buju Banton sort of beast) and pointed, observational lyrics have made him a staple, if not an outright star."

Also featured on Kanye West's I'm In It single, the artiste told the media in a recent interview that he is grateful for his accomplishments.

"It is great and I am always happy to represent the music and the culture. It is on a greater platform and a different audience. Hopefully, people will get some exposure to dancehall and hopefully we can win them over. We stay working and it is good to put in the work and have projects like this come up and you are rewarded like this," Assassin said.

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly currently sits at number one on the Billboard albums chart. Assassin is currently promoting his new single Day In Day Out.