Jerome ‘Journexx’ Reynolds: Paving his own path with Caribbean music
Shemar-Leslie Louisy / Our Today
Upcoming Caribbean pop and reggae artiste Jerome ‘Journexx’ Reynolds is set to continue his evolution in music with his upcoming reggae single ‘Respect‘, a track he claims pays homage to Bob Marley.
Born and raised in Kingston, Reynolds is the fifth of seven children and has been in love with music since his early childhood in the Seventh-day Adventist church.
He attended the St Andrew Technical High School which he says gave him his first taste of musical competition with the school choir’s entry in TVJ’s All Together Sing. He credits the then choir director Ms Henry for a lot of his development as a vocalist.
Reynolds says he has learned early on that he needs to aim beyond Jamaica with his musical sound to achieve his dream fully. His vision is to take inspiration from soca’s Afro-Indian influences with reggae’s messaging to create a globally palatable “Caribbean pop” sound.
He says he takes inspiration from R&B and pop artistes like Brandy, Michael Jackson and Chris Brown.
Outside of his nine-to-five, he says he ghostwrites for a popular local artiste and has also ventured into acting, most notably in a minor role in the Bob Marley ‘One Love‘ biopic which was subsequently cut in the film’s final release.
Reynolds says going out on his own as an artiste is, “the next part of his journey,” and his stage name ‘Journexx’ is a coining of that next journey.
‘Respect‘ is a testament to the perseverance and hard work that he puts into his career and the impact reggae music has had on his life.
Responding to questions about the seemingly opportunistic timing of a track paying homage to the reggae legend coming out months after the ‘Bob Marley: One Love‘ biopic, Reynolds explained that creating music as an independent artiste can take a lot of time without the right support.
“I want it to be said as part of my story that this track is not about the movie, it was actually created in 2022 and is inspired by my journey in understanding what exactly reggae is,” he said. “Being an artiste is very hard but also very fulfilling.”
‘Respect‘ is available on all major streaming platforms starting May 31.
His next move is releasing his EP “Phoenix” later this year.
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