1. Chronixx
In 2013, there’s no Jamaican artist pegged for success more than Chronixx. Over the past couple years he’s put on stage show after stage show, while dropping some of the most memorable melodies in recent memory. Evidence can be found on “They Don’t Know” and “Capitalist” (ft. Infinite), tunes that tend to stick around long after they’ve been heard. Add to this his new, Major Lazer-produced Catch a Fire mixtape, which featured a terrific freestyle on the instrumental from the already terrific “Get Free” .
So what’s coming up in 2013? “I’m not like the youth who sits down and makes plans,” Chronixx told LargeUp at Mikey Bennett’s Grafton Studios in Kingston. “It’s supposed to be free flow. You can’t plan music. You can’t plan life. I think Jah will keep me grounded within this music so I can execute his plan. For next year, we are looking at an album. It has been finished and waiting for a long time. I am trying to release more than one album. Because we have a ton load of songs.” Clearly, Chronixx is just getting started.
And regardless of what happens, this roots reggae artist is committed to consciousness. He insists that his music is informed by Rastafari, but also his own life. As he puts it, “The thing with music is that people don’t just hear music, they feel it. So if you sing about something that is not genuine, or something that you are not living, then the people won’t feel it.”