Real reggae lovers who know and appreciate the history of the genre would have recognized that Audley Rollen – one of Jamaica’s foundation artist from the 70s – made a forceful return to the reggae scene in 2021.
The preceding statement should not be misinterpreted to mean that Rollen has been away from music. To the contrary, he has been very active, albeit in gospel. Between the end of the 90s and early 2000s Audley stepped away from secular music, choosing instead to commit his life to Christ. Since then he has been focused on writing, recording and releasing only inspirational songs.
That said, a couple of reggae-gospel tunes he shared last year did very well in both the gospel arena and on non-religious platforms.
Never Knew Love Till You, an enchanting song laced with horns, was released on April 2nd. It stayed on the reggae chart in South Florida for weeks and even held the #1 spot for three consecutive weeks. It also sat at #1 on the Top 30 chart in New York for two weeks; and by the end of 2021 it was #11 among the top 100 Songs.
Following the success of Never Knew Love Till You, he published Close To You, another pulsating reggae record that came out at the beginning of October. Currently Close To You is riding high on several charts: it’s #12 on the South Florida Reggae Chart; #19 on the Top 30 Chart in New York and #5 on Mikey B’s Chart (WAVS 107.9 FM).
MARIA JACKSON 27 MAGAZINE 