Is Chronixx Reggae's Next Big Thing? Chris Blackwell, Diplo Think So [ Billboard Magazine Article ]

On Sept. 17, SOB's nightclub in lower Manhattan presented the New York City debut of Jamaica’s most buzzed about reggae act, Chronixx and the Zinc Fence Redemption. Throughout their 8-date Dread and Terrible east coast tour (so named for their forthcoming EP, to be released on Chronixx’s label Zinc Fence Records) which concluded on Sept. 21 in Brooklyn, Chronixx and his band have played in mostly sold-out venues averaging a capacity of 600.

Throughout his 85-minute set, Chronixx, (b. Jamar McNaughton) -- tall, casually dressed in a light blue denim shirt, khaki pants and a beige wool tam, a style reminiscent of the late reggae icon Peter Tosh -- charismatically delivered his rapidly expanding repertoire of hit songs that have prompted the meteoric rise of his career over the past year. Many industry insiders, as well as fans, cite the 21-year old Rastafarian sing-jay as reggae’s next superstar.

“I think it is the spirit within my music that has made it so popular, that’s what people are feeling,” Chronixx told Billboard.biz in a late July interview in Kingston. “In December 2012, everybody started to talk about Chronixx; before that I could walk on the road in Jamaica without anyone recognizing me... that is impossible now.” Following the August 2012 release of the video for “Behind Curtain”, a barbed commentary on false friends.