Words by Jesse Serwer
Christopher Ellis is rocksteady royalty. But the son of the great Alton Ellis has been making a name for himself recently, with a soulful sound that sits somewhere between reggae and the retro R&B vibes of an Aloe Blacc. If you were at last year’s Okayplayer Holiday Jam you might have seen Chris jamming with the Roots on a cover of his pops’ classic “I’m Still in Love With You.”
“Roller Coaster,” an uplifting message about gratitude and positivity, is the latest single off his Damian Marley-produced Better Than Love EP, released last year. For the song’s video, the singer visited Brighton Pier in Brighton, England, bringing some good old Jamaican sunshine to a typically grey English day. Watch it here, and if you’re lucky enough to be setting sail on this week’s Jamrock Reggae Cruise, you’ll have a chance to catch the rising star alongside Ghetto Youths International labelmates Damian and Stephen Marley (not to mention Shaggy, Sean Paul, Bounty Killer, Busy Signal, Jah Cure and more).