Byron Messia is on the Billboard Hot 100. “Talibans,” his breakout single, debuts at No. 99 on the chart dated August 5, 2023, lifted by “Talibans II,” the new version with Nigerian star Burna Boy released on July 21. Billboard combines all versions of a song into one chart listing.
Both the original and the remix are in the JamaicansMusic library, sourced from the Byron Messia TV channel: press Play all above, open the Talibans II release page, or jump to the player below.
According to Billboard, the song logged 7.6 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 26 percent), 4.2 million US streams (up 136 percent) and under a thousand downloads in the July 21–27 tracking week, per Luminate. The remix went out through Ztekk, Simple Stupid Records and Geffen Records together with On A Spaceship, Bad Habit and Atlantic.
Two years since ‘Crocodile Teeth’
The Jamaica Observer notes it is the first Jamaican entry on the all-genre Hot 100 in two years. The last was Skillibeng, whose “Crocodile Teeth” remix with Nicki Minaj entered in May 2021 and peaked at No. 100.
The original “Talibans,” released January 20, had already been climbing Billboard’s radio charts since early July. This week it moves 16–15 on Rap Airplay, 29–26 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, 33–31 on Rhythmic Airplay and 36–32 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Messia’s collection No Love, which carries the track, climbs from No. 9 to a new peak of No. 3 on Reggae Albums after debuting at No. 8 in June.
Abroad, the Observer reports “Talibans” jumping 29–12 on the UK Singles Chart and 13–5 on the Official Hip-Hop and R&B Singles chart, entering the Irish Singles Chart at No. 74, and — in its Burna Boy form — debuting at No. 18 on Nigeria’s Hot 100.
Who is Byron Messia
Born Dylan Byron in Jamaica and based in St Kitts and Nevis, Messia is new to the Billboard charts but not to recording. Billboard lists six earlier projects, from Different Perspectives (2017) to Pills Nd Pain (2021). The single’s slow, brooding build is a long way from the tempo dancehall usually exports, and its path — regional buzz, radio in the United States, then a pan-African co-sign — is a template other artists will be studying.
For Burna Boy, “Talibans II” is a third Hot 100 appearance after Justin Bieber’s “Loved By You” (No. 87, 2021) and his own “Last Last” (No. 44, 2022).
Listen and dig deeper
- Play “Talibans II” with Burna Boy and the original “Talibans” — both the official music videos from Byron Messia TV. No separate official audio upload exists on the artist channel, so the videos are the library versions.
- Browse the Byron Messia artist profile and Skillibeng, the last Jamaican act to crack the chart.
Sources: Billboard — “Hot 100 First-Timers: Byron Messia Arrives With Burna Boy Collab ‘Talibans II’” (Aug 3, 2023); Jamaica Observer — “Byron Messia’s Talibans enters Billboard Hot 100 chart” (Aug 3, 2023).
Editor’s note: This story is part of an archive backfill covering Jamaican music news from 2022 to 2026. It is dated to the events it reports.