It’s the 2nd Anniversary of the release date of “Chronology”, the album has aged well with time, I must say. From the album release being accepted by worldwide critical acclaim to a Grammy nomination… It has been a journey in time!
When the album first popped on the scene, it was an epic imagery of Jamaica’s rich culture bursting with colour in front of our faces. It was not just all about the beauty of Jamaica; Chronixx is a conscious youth who made sure to highlight the current state of the country, too as we reflect on many of his songs from the album.
Never forget where you’re coming from
Chronixx has always emphasized his hometown – Spanish Town, so it was only fitting that his album had “Spanish Town Rocking” as the very first track. Sampled from Barrington Levy’s “Prison Oval Rock” Riddim, the track was descriptive about his life in De La Vega and effortlessly flowing with old school and modern vibes. The song has around 5.9 million views on YouTube and it’s still an album favourite that has us doing the “Rock and Come in…”
Chronixx had the second track burning like a fire that has us vibing to this day. His ‘father-son’ duo alongside dad and recording artist, Chronicle, in “Big Bad Sound” was spewing all the right mellow vibes with drums and synths to get you grooving. The duo, like Father like Son, made the perfect ital stew in the form of a blazing track amassing over 2.2. million views on YouTube.
A Musical Haven
“Skankin’ Sweet” had the whole world literally skankin’ when it was released. It simply gets better after every listen and never seems to grow old. The music video, released in 2018, portrayed the beauty of reggae music despite a world of despair and chaos – a safe haven. Featuring gorgeous natural beauties with the authenticity of Jamaica, it has racked up over 15 million views on YouTube and 8.4 million streams on Spotify. There is also a “Skankin’ Sweet: Studio to Stage Short Film” on YouTube that portrays the 25-year-old artist beyond his singing and song-writing. It takes us behind the scenes, showing the process from studio to stage.
Back to Reality
Number Four on the album is “Ghetto Paradise,” an oxymoron turned into a stunning single that captures the hardships of living in Jamaica despite the fact that it’s beautiful. This track spoke to the persons who swear that Jamaica is just a Paradise – “I live where you vacate” comes to mind. Chronixx speaks on the struggles ordinary Jamaicans face from the local vendor’s son who dreams of being a pro footballer to even the singer who desires to be a successful icon. It focuses on the true reality of Jamaica and the “survivors” who live here. “Ghetto Paradise” accumulated over 2.2. million views on YouTube.
There’s beauty in transition and Chronixx has embedded that from talks of reality and struggles in Jamaica to, a smile. Chronixx lightens things from the reality of it all to words of encouragement in the remastered version of “Smile Jamaica”. The original music video produced by Silly Walks Discotheque has racked up over 32 million views on YouTube. “Smile Jamaica” has proven to be the go-to Jamaican song for country pride or patriotism since its release.
After smiling through the struggles, Chronixx let us know that we can do this with the 7th track, “I Can.” The music video, which is currently almost 7 million views on YouTube, gave me goose bumps the first time I watched it when it was released. It was spectacularly done as Chronixx shows off beautiful Jamaica, no enhancements. From aerial views of the lush green trees to the beautiful beaches and the kids on the streets, the church, people ‘liming’ – the music video was by far one of the greatest. “Lift up my eyes to the hills, I’m blessed…” Chronixx reflects on how blessed he is to have come this far and to have lived in Jamaica through it all.
Black is Beautiful
“When you see Walter Rodney ask him… How you nuh hear about Howell often…So when the little offspring asking, tell them… They never told us that black is beautiful”
Chronixx – Black is Beautiful
Chronixx bellows the beauty of Black through “Black is Beautiful”, the 9th track on the album. He highlights that Black was always attached to the negative instead of the positive. The artist urged that it was not a racist song, but it was a song to emphasize the fact that the history we were taught was in
In perfect sequence, “Majesty” followed right after “Black is Beautiful” on the album with even more tributes to black. This time, Chronixx pays homage to all the black Queens all over the world such as Venus and Serena, Queen of Sheba, Nefertiti and others. The track may have sounded familiar to many when it was released as it was sampled from Jamaican singer, Otis Gayle’s 1971 Studio One classic, “I’ll Be Around.” “Majesty” is a favourite on the album and in the streets, which received over 5.6 million views on YouTube, for the music video uploaded by Pitchfork.
Substance Over Hype
Chronixx said “a nuh everybody a guh like we” in the 12th track on the album, “Likes.” This tracked proved to stand the test of time in the music industry as it is still a favourite worldwide. It seems Chronixx doing it for the love and not the likes proved substance over hype is the way to go as ironically, this track racked up the most views from the album with a whopping 32.3 million views on YouTube and 8.4 million streams on Spotify. It is possibly the signature song on the streets from the album. Chronixx used the song to pay homage to artists who paved the way for Dancehall and Reggae music such as Buju Banton, Sizzla Kalonji, Capleton, Lady G – a fellow De La Vegan, Lady Saw, his father – Chronicle and many others.
The other tracks from the album include “Country Boy” with 1.1 million views, “Selassie Children” with 1.7 million views, “Loneliness” with over 2.5 million views, “Christina” and bonus track, “I Know Love” both have almost a million views, “Tell me Now” with 1.3 million and “Legend” with over 4.1 million views on YouTube.
Chronixx served Jamaica what they never knew they needed in 2017 with “Chronology” and continues to reign as the Reggae Revivalist. Chronixx has put in the work that’s lasting today and will for years to come as he doesn’t just sing, he sings to make a difference in the world.
