Chronixx
“Hurricane”
Forever Living Originals –buy it directly via his website!
I’m sending this new release of the week for the citizens of Jamaica, who are currently measuring the damage and recovering from the wreckage of Hurricane Melissa.
Through that lens, I’m presenting Chronixx, who just released his excellent sophomore album Exile with little to no notice. His fan base quickly picked it up, though, and critics like me are following suit.
The reason is simple. There are no misses here – just a beautiful example of contemporary reggae, in line with the powerful work I’m hearing from another Jamaican artist, ORIGINAL KOFFEE.
This generation’s Bob Marley is a fair comparison. There’s less political charge here to be sure, but the depth and delivery of Chronixx’s music cover new ground. It’s bringing in new elements, mainly thanks to his affiliations with the collective of artists known as SAULT and the producer behind that project, Inflo, who produced this new album and has worked with mega-artists like Adele.
There’s another mega-comparison I want to make, too. On the song “Hurricane,” one of the highlights on this album, I can hear Paul McCartney’s gentle delivery on “Blackbird.”
“Through the eye of the hurricane / I heard you whisper, call my name”
It’s a song of personal turmoil, of finding love when you feel lost in a sea of despair. It’s paired wonderfully with follow-up track, “Genesis,” which carries the same gentle energy and guitar strum, but works in more richness of backing vocals and a sneaky little hook from a Rhodes piano.
“Survivor” is yet another stand-out. It blends the polyrhythms of Afro-beat out of Lagos, Nigeria, with the signature stylings of Bob Marley & the Wailers’ signature reggae sound that became a crossover sensation around the world.
But if you have to start in one place, start with the quiet beauty of “Hurricane” before quickly absorbing the rest of this record, which will go down as one of my favorites of 2025.
And keep the people of Jamaica in your thoughts as they fight to recover from Hurricane Melissa.
