Many Jamaicans I spoke to in Jamaica recently reminisced to me about the good ole days of conscious roots reggae music. They also complained about the new generation of dancehall. I think those Jamaicans would approve of Protoje and his band The Indiggnation.
Protoje’s 2013 album The 8 Year Affair, turned out to be the best contemporary reggae album I bought home with me from Jamaica. This is the music I went to Jamaica looking for.
To my ears it is simply sweet, tasty reggae music – infused with some subtle elements of dub, hip hop, pop, and even a violin on one track.
Protoje’s lyrics are of the conscious kind that those Jamaicans (and I) are looking for. One of the tracks is Reggae Revival – an ode to reggae music from those ‘good ole days’ featuring another great contemporary Jamaican artist Romain Virgo.
In these past weeks post Jamaica and Colombia, The 8 Year Affair has had the most listens out of my entire bag of new CDs. I love it to bits – and Protoje has gone on to my list of ‘must have live music experiences’. You’ll probably feel the same if you’re into reggae.
Reggae fans in Europe in October and November can check out Protoje & The Indiggnation live on their Fall Tour.
If not in Europe, find Protoje & The Indiggnation live where you can – I will be. In the meantime get hold of The 8 Year Affair and the previous Protoje album The 7 Year Itch.