Words by Jesse Serwer—
Protoje‘s 8-Year Affair was one of our favorite Caribbean albums of 2013—maybe even our favorite, a mature sophomore release from an artist who had definitely found his sound. That sound being a contemporary, hip-hop-inflected spin on the militant, dubwise ’80s reggae of Black Uhuru, Aswad, etc.
The Indiggnation vocalist has been fairly quiet since then in terms of new music (one exception being his appearance on “Selassie Souljahz” with Chronixx, Sizzla and Kabaka Pyramid) but he’s broken his silence with a wicked new tune we just know we’re going to be hearing for months to come.
Protoje goes in over a heavy, heavy riddim from Winta James (of Damian Marley’s band) on “Who Knows,” with a heavy assist from his reggae revival co-chair Chronixx on the hook. It’s the first single from ‘Oje’s forthcoming third album, which he says is due out later this year. He’s currently on a tour of the West Coast, wrapping up tomorrow night in Portland.