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LIVING LEGEND: Chronixx, no stranger to performing to large crowds, hailed the freedom of Buju Banton

IF ANYONE tries to downplay the significance of reggae in 2019, then they need look no further than the reception Buju Banton received following his release from incarceration last year.

His ‘Long Walk To Freedom’ was met with an outpouring of emotion and global adulation that few artists will ever experience in their whole career.

It was a collective thumbs up for a musician many hold dear in their heart due to the positive and impactful nature of his music.

His influence isn’t restricted to fans, however, as peers and fellow reggae artists all over the world descended upon Jamaica for the first of a series of concerts spanning the Caribbean and Europe, to see Buju perform at the national stadium in Kingston.

RISE

Talking to The Voice prior to the living legend’s release, Chronixx explained why the release of Gargamel (Buju’s nickname) meant so much to so many. “It means a lot. It means a lot because we need someone to rise forward, a brave soul who has been through a lot and learned a lot. It has to be someone of that character,” he said.

“The artists have done a lot and they are the ones I am counting on, I am not counting on anyone else. They are the ones I am counting on to use all of the experience and the resources that they have been able to get control of over the years to free more young talent.

“We need young talent to go and do the 1,000 photo shoots, who are willing to sit in the studio every day, that don’t have anyone calling them to do anything and they don’t have any tour to go on. We need people to be able to give the fullness of their talent to the music.

“And (we need) ones who have done that and know how it feels and how to guide an artist through that type of experience. Buju is one of those.”

Looking to the future, Chronixx said it takes a certain type of artist to aspire to attain the levels seen by Buju and others of that ilk. He said: “What Jamaica is missing is those brave souls and I hope some of those emerge. What our music is missing is those brave souls that are willing to step up and revolutionise the ting.

HISTORY

“If you check history, anything that is great and worth of being written down in history, that’s what it takes. Some brave souls to rise up and say ‘yo, I’m going to start a new booking agency, I’m going to start a new management company, I’m going to start a new media house that can create a progressive advancement in the industry.

“Which means I’m going to start booking artists and have quality events. I’m going to help the artist bring his show where he wants to bring his show and not where the industry in England is telling him where he must tour. No.

“Our biggest market is the Caribbean and Africa, we need people to stand up and take on the conquest of going to Africa and figuring out how it works, going into the Caribbean and figuring out how it works, and start putting the artists in the right positions that they need to be.”

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