Protoje Talks Blending Griselda and Reggae, His Ethiopian Christmas & ‘The Art of Acceptance’: ‘This Is the Album I’ve Wanted to Make for a Long Time’
Categoria: Musica
The reggae sensation is back with his first solo album in four years. Read the Billboard interview.
Por Billboard | 08/05/2026
Two-time Grammy-nominated reggae star Protoje has spent the past 15 years valiantly merging classic reggae with contemporary audiences’ increasingly cross-genre sensibilities — but his newest LP feels like the first album he’s made primarily for himself. Related After Dropping His Debut LP While Battling Cancer, Dominica’s Trilla-G Is Ready to Take Bouyon to the World: ‘I Want to Be Like the Greats’ Chronic Law Details First Project Following Release from ICE Custody: ‘Yuh Cyan Judge Me Through My Music’ V’ghn Previews Jab Decision Tour Finale, Teases New Summer Album: ‘Telling Me ‘I Can’t’ Is Just ‘I Can’ in a Different Language’ Led by buzzy singles “Feel It” and “Big 45,” The Art of Acceptance arrived on April 17 via Ineffable Records and the singer’s own In.Digg.Nation Collective. Featuring collaborations with Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley , Shenseea , Masicka and Jesse Royal , the new record delivers 13 poignant musical manifestos rooted in Rastafari principles and first-hand experiences of grief and growth. From incisive takedowns of fascism (“The Locusts”) to hard-sought inner peace (“Ten Times Around the Sun”), Acceptance traces an emotional arc that keeps Protoje’s life in tune with more sprawling ruminations and revolutions of all kinds. “I’ve lived to see people showing love no longer be the default; love is the rebellion,” he proclaims. “Reggae music is about struggle and oppression, but it is always yearning for love and reconciliation. My music balances those things. There cannot be peace without justice, so we have to fight for both. The world is in chaos, and Babylon is falling, but what are we going to do now? What do we build in its place for the next era?” Protoje’s new album arrives four years after his last solo studio project, 2022’s Third Time’s the Charm , marking his first full-length since parting ways with RCA that same year. Since returning to full-time independent status (In.Digg.Nation exclusively licenses its releases to Ineffable), the St. Elizabeth-hailing star has doubled down on uplifting local contemporary reggae talent, launching his Lost in Time Festival in 2023. Billboard attended this year’s Lost in Time staging at Hope Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica, which featured a set from enigmatic reggae savant Chronixx — his first local live performance in seven years. Protoje’s commitment to bridging generations of reggae lovers is evident throughout The Art of Acceptance , from the Griselda-nodding hip-hop influences peppered across James’ soundscape to the uplifting, anthemic feel of “At We Feet.” As he wraps the final month of his 46-date Reggae Invasion Tour across Europe, the U.K. and the U.S., Protoje took a moment to chat with Billboard about his Hot 100 goals, an upcoming visual album and how his recent Ethiopian Christmas helped bring The Art of Acceptance to life. When did it start to feel like you had a new album coming together? When [producer] Winta [James] sent me the fi