Before Trap Dancehall’s supremacy on Jamaican airwaves and streaming, the rise of Reggae stars Chronixx and Koffee appeared to be the beginning of a new era for Reggae. This new era would see Reggae on an equal footing with Dancehall locally among Jamaican youths who had naturally gravitated to Dancehall’s more edgier lyrics.
The success of Chronixx and Koffee internationally also signalled a return to Jamaican Reggae artistes leading the genre the country had birthed. A genre that has become dominated by foreign artistes reaping the success of the groundwork done by the likes of Bob Marley and The Wailers.
The pair are arguably the most promising artistes from Jamaica over the past decade, with their music captivating listeners young and old. Chronixx delivered anti-colonial and anti-establishment songs like Captureland and Here Comes Trouble while releasing feel-good melodies like Smile Jamaica.
This ability ignited praise from both lovers of old-school revolutionary Reggae and younger audiences looking for good vibes. A native of Spanish Town, Koffee also used Jamaica’s societal problems to influence her music while at the same time capturing attention with upbeat music like her breakout hit Toast.
If any evidence is needed of Koffee and Chronixx’s ability to garner massive attention, one may turn to their massive numbers on platforms such as YouTube. Koffee’s Toast has acquired over 260 million views, and Chronixx’s collaboration with Protoje, Who Knows, has amassed over 222 million views since their release in 2018 and 2014, respectively.
Both artistes have also received Grammy recognition, with Chronixx receiving a Grammy nomination for his 2017 album Chronology. Koffee became the youngest artiste and only female to win the Best Reggae Album after walking away with the award for her EP Rapture in 2020.
However, whatever promising golden era of Reggae Chronixx and Koffee appeared to be ushering in years ago never came to pass, with both artistes taking unexpected breaks from music. Chronixx’s last release, Never Give Up, came out in 2022, while Koffee’s last major project, Gifted, was also released that year.
In February 2024, Chronixx shared that he had no plans to release new music anytime soon. Though the Skanking Sweet singer teased new songs later that year and shared a studio session, he went on to remove most of those posts on his Instagram.
Similar to Chronixx, Koffee reduced her online presence by archiving or deleting the posts on her Instagram page. However, the Lockdown singer used the platform to pay tribute to Reggae icon Cocoa Tea, who passed away earlier this week.
She also reacted to rumours that she was dropped by music label RCA Records. Following the rumours, the head of her label, Ferdy Unger-Hamilton of Promised Land Records, explained that Koffee was never directly signed to RCA.
At the time, the rumours of issues with her label served as an explanation for Koffee’s absence. But fans of the artiste have returned to speculating what may be preventing her return to the stage.
Like Chronixx, Koffee has been absent from major events, with the artistes only making minor appearances over the past year or so. While Koffee has not discussed her absence, last year Chronixx expressed that he missed music but could not rush creativity.
Reggae fans are now left pondering when the artistes will return to releasing new music and once again take the stage.
