Protoje by Ackime Snow
Two-time Grammy nominee Protoje is at the forefront of a decade-long reggae revival happening in the music’s birthplace of Jamaica, and he knows it. “To be an innovator, to be seen as someone who has helped others, carries the deepest value to me,” Protoje told PureHoney in an interview that touched on his rise to prominence, plans for his next album, a music festival he launched in Jamaica, and the expected vibe at his upcoming performance at Hollywood’s ArtsPark at Young Circle.
It’s tough to find one contemporary artist more emblematic of the developments that first turned Jamaica into a global music power: Protoje’s father, Mike Ollivierre, is a calypso singer; his mother, Lorna Bennett, is a reggae singer. Protoje (born Oje Ken Ollivierre) carries their actual and musical genes, plus the influence of everyone from Toots and the Maytals to Bob Marley to dancehallers like Shabba Ranks.
After Marley’s death, ragga and dancehall kept reggae alive but on a different wavelength. Classic reggae’s successors, influenced by dance music and hip hop, were like a lot of popular music: increasingly about sex, money, rivalries and personal advancement.
But in 2011, writer and reggae expert Dutty Bookman chronicled a new “Reggae Revival” sweeping Jamaica. And at its helm was Protoje, who broke onto the scene fusing popular Jamaican genres and creating a new sound rooted in consciousness and spiritualty, and powered by dancehall beats. His third album, 2015’s “Ancient Future,” brought international attention to him and the whole reggae revival, with cameos by fellow Jamaicans including like Chronixx and Jesse Royal.
It’s an album that “significantly changed the way modern Jamaican music sounds,” Protoje said, and the album that will become “synonymous” with him.
Two subsequent albums, “A Matter of Time” (2018) and “Third Time’s the Charm,” (2022) competed for best reggae album at the Grammys. With his recurring focus on the passage of time, and his awareness of societal struggles, it might not be a surprise to learn that Protoje has a reflective, melancholy side — he’s said as much in past interviews.
But at age 41, he said he feels “grateful” for all he’s been able to do as an artist, mentor, producer and investor in Jamaican music and culture. He has his own label, In.Digg.Nation, and a new live music festival, “Lost in Time,” in Jamaica. He spoke of gratitude “for my life and the people around it,” and said he’s working on a “real, original hardcore roots” album, as a kind of successor to his 2020 album, “In Search of Lost Time.” He continues to build a revived reggae ecosystem in Jamaica and beyond, and conjure up “heavy reggae bassline beats” in his studio.
He wouldn’t disclose any potential surprise guests for the ArtsPark show but promised, “Royalty in South Florida will be a whole vibe.” He called performing in South Florida “the closest thing to a Jamaican concert” because of the region’s large Jamaican community. He said the mood will be upbeat, wholesome and family-friendly, with concertgoers heading home afterward “feeling a little more positive about the day.” He wants people to come away from his performances “feeling like life is amazing, and life can be amazing,” he said. “That’s the mindset I am trying to leave with people.”
Protoje w/ Dubwise, 7pm Sunday, April 16 at ArtsPark at Young Circle in Hollywood. Tickets are free at protoje.com ~ Amanda Moore
