Background
His mother is Jamaican singer, Lorna Bennett, best known for her 1972 rendition of "Breakfast in Bed". His father is a former calypso king from the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
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Oje Ken Ollivierre
Edit ProfileCareer
Protoje was first discovered by many people for his 2005 mixtape published Lyrical Overdose Volume 1. Recorded were mostly hip-hop influenced songs. After releasing "Dread", "JA" and "Roll" in 2010, Protoje"s debut album, entitled The Seven Year Itch, was released on 25 January 2011.
The first single off the album dubbed "Arguments" (2009) was responsible for his early popularity in Jamaica.
In 2011, he released another single off the album entitled "Rasta Love" featuring Kentucky-Mani Marley. "The Seven Year Itch" charted northern
2 in Canada, northern 3 in the United States of America and northern 4 in France.
His second album, The 8 Year Affair, was released 12 February 2013. "Who Democratic A Program" was the first single released from the album in January 2012.
"This Is Not A Marijuana Song" was released on that summer. "Kingston Be Wise" was heavily promoted via traditional and social media.
On the day of its release, 5 November 2012, the music video became the most viewed YouTube link among internet users in Jamaica.
The hashtag #KBW was used on Twitter. The song "Kingston Be Wise" was featured in the bestselling video game Grand Theft Auto V on the in-game "Blue Ark" radio station, increasing its popularity further. Protoje cited reggae artist Ini Kamoze and group Black Uhuru as influences when recording the album.
In December 2014 Protoje was included on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 1Xtra"s "Hot for 2015" list.
His third album Ancient Future was initially set for release in September 2014, but was put back until March 2015. Produced by Phillip "Winta" James, the album includes the song "Who Knows", a collaboration with Chronixx, which was released as a single.
Two tracks from the album, "Answer to Your Name" & "Criminal" were released ahead of the album as exclusives on the "England Be Wise" mixtape for British Broadcasting Corporation 1xtra DJ Toddla T. Two weeks after its release it topped the Billboard Top Reggae chart.
