Dancehall Artist Teejay’s ‘Drift’ Featured In Fortnite

When Dancehall artist Teejay released his hit track Drift last summer, he had almost the entire world doing the accompanying dance, created by dancer Gibbidon. The catchy tune still hasn’t lost its flair because even virtual characters in the popular online video game Fortnite are drifting!

Fortnite players can now purchase an emote for their characters to perform the Drift choreography for 500 V-Bucks (less than US$1).

Commenting on the development, which broke on Wednesday night, Teejay said it has further cemented the success he has achieved with the song.

“It’s another milestone… I’m happy for this, and its publishing for me and the legacy it has created for my family. Mi thankful… Wi ah break di spell,” he told DancehallMag on Thursday afternoon.

Produced by DJ Mac, PXNDX (Panda) and Top Braff Music, Drift has been a huge success for the Montego Bay native. It played an instrumental role in the artist earning a record deal with Warner Records.

It was such a smash hit that it caught the attention of Afrobeat heavyweight Davido, who hopped on a remix, the music video for which was shot in Africa and also featured Gabbidon.

Teejay explained that Gabbidon had contacted him almost a year before Drift‘s release to create a song to complement the “Drift” dance, but it took him a while to find a fitting beat.

“The dance was the inspiration to write the song.   The dance was there before,” he told British disc jockey DJ Davda during an interview on Kiss Fresh. “Gabbidon created the dance, reach out to me and asked me to build a song for the dance.  But it was like from December last year.  Mi just get di riddim in March from Panda and then it was just history after.”

Gabbidon, Teejay

Meanwhile, Gabbidon said the dance was initially a simple foot movement akin to Elephant Man’s Log On, after which he “kind of built something around it.”

He also revealed that he had approached several deejays to create a “dancing song” surrounding the “Drift” dance before Teejay jumped on it.

“You know, a whole heap a artist mi really link fi do di song; mi reach to whole heap a artist.  An nuff a di artiste seh ‘yow, yuh know seh mi nuh really do dancing song’… A Rebel Salute mi si Teejay enuh and tell him seh ‘yow, mi new ting name Drift enuh Teejay’.  An him seh ‘awrite, mi a guh clock it een; tek dah numba yah’.  An mi link him and link him, an him a seh ‘yow, mi a fix tings Gabbidon man.  Bout two month him a tell mi dat enuh,” he said.

Admitting that Drift was his most successful song to date, Gabbidon said that its success saw some of the very artists who had shunned his idea return to contact him for collaborations. “Yuh si when sem si dis guh viral, dem even reach out back an seh ‘yow’… di amount a artist weh a link mi bro, mi inbox full up… and even right now mi a do some work wid one a di artiste dem right now…. But mi di understand him because a nuh really di fi him flow and everything,” he added.

Drift entered the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, reaching No. 41 on the weekly listing.

It was the lead single on TeeJay’s I Am Chippy EP, which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.