Protoje On His Search For Lost Time, Nostalgia And The Purity Of Youth

The atmosphere of music in and from Jamaica has shifted dramatically over the last ten months. Many artists are pivoting from the typical single and tour-based music business model that often dominates the culture. Yet there are the exceptional few, the elite, who continue to execute on their long-term vision with bodies of music, business structure, and more. A key figure among these elites is In.Digg.Nation’s own Protoje.

Praised by artists like Govana for his exceptional business sense, Protoje’s talent and his strategic mind continues to set him apart from Jamaica’s unending sea of talent.

His latest project In Search Of Lost Time (ISOLT), can be considered in many ways, a crystallization of his elusive yet distinct musical philosophy. ISOLT is the first album to come out of his newly acquired home studio fondly dubbed The Habitat. With a roster full of talented artists like Sevana, Lila Iké, Jaz Elise, stellar producers like Iotosh, JLL and Ziah, and a joint deal with RCA records, greater things are ahead for the In.Digg collective boss.

But with such a riveting album in stores, a proper questioning was due and Protoje gracefully obliged as we sat down to reason on the Habitat balcony. What follows is the on-record version of a longer, more nuanced conversation.

Recently I was speaking to Agent Sasco and we had sort of a back and forth I wanted to say Hope River was his best album to me but I was afraid of offending him and being horribly wrong, but he said don’t feel no way that’s kind of the intention for each body of work to be better than the last and I felt that so simple in a way as the truth often is. I kind of feel that way with this album in a sense.

Of course there are certain elements in each album that stand out as unique but in the sense of lyrics, song composition, choice of beats, and overall arrangement I think this album was more considered and polished. It felt like a good arc, musically and it was an adventurous listen. Do you share Sasco’s sentiment?

I would think that anyone who is going out there to do something is trying to do it better than they did it last time. I don’t think someone is trying to drop their quality, however it is hard to keep making albums that reinvent yourself, or stay at a standard. That’s why a lot of times the first or first two projects are their crowning achievements and then the others fall flat.

I think my approach to music has been, like how Kobe approached basketball. I feel it has always been; how can I improve? How can I get better? What can I learn this time? And because of that I feel like it has gone in that direction. Yes lots of people when asked, what’s their favorite, they’re gonna say their last album. In Search Of Lost Time is my favorite record I’ve done, it’s not like I rank them in order, but I think ISOLT is my favorite one. It’s the first one I did on my own–like at the head of the project. I feel because of that people get the most of me style wise, pattern wise.  Most freedom that they have ever gotten from me in my career.

How long ago did it start coming together?

I would say as an album, years upon ago. But it took different forms, different songs populating the album that was called ISOLT it was called that from about 2013 but it was different songs. Like Anni Palmer–never make it. That was one of the first songs for the project, but there was lots of songs. I went to Miami and recorded eight songs with Super Dupes for the project. Used three of them.

Which three?

Still I Wonder, Weed And Ting, and A Vibe.

But when I would say this album took its final form, was in the end of October when Zia came up here for the first session in habitat studios. We did, Like Royalty, Same So and Strange Happenings on that day. I didn’t finish writing it but I wrote the chorus and he built the riddim and the ideas came in. I would say it was at a point where I would for sure finish it. That took me from three songs to six songs, and then I was like I’m four songs away from finishing my album. Then it just took form.

When did you realize you had a direction, was it the sound or the concept?

It’s a bit of both, for me, the first three Dupes them sound a way and that’s why they’re set out track 3, 4 and 5. They go together. Early to middle of the album I had those but I knew that the overall sound would be that. So it’s like I was already saying ok I’m going to find a way to make this sync. When I got the three Ziah’s in one day. I knew where I wanted to go with this. I immediately heard Strange Happenings and thought, you’re somewhere at the end of the album. You deh somewhere down there, mi nuh hundred certain if you a close out, but you either at 9 or 10. That’s how I kinda start work. That’s how I see an album–meaning for example I went to Iotosh and said I need a track two. Mi go to Winta and say I need you to start my project. I need you to kick off this album we just coming out of two albums together, transition me into album now. Then I said Io mi need a track two, I had everything except a track two, so is like that’s how I kinda work my project dem.

When you see Deliverance and how that roll out- from the first song Switch It Up to Deliverance. Then the way how Deliverance ends with the percussion and the heavy bass. The way how Still I Wonder just start as a reggae sound and then goes into like a contemporary one, to carry me into the contemporary part of my project. Is suh me kinda do it. Then that part of the project, it carry me out into A Vibe into Same So, which is more back in my world now with a reggae sound but still like a little Stevie Wonder style. From there into a heavy reggae sample, Freddie Mcgregor for In Bloom, with some hard-hitting drums. Then into like dancehall-inspired Self Defense to Like Royalty and then exiting with Strange Happenings.

For me is like it came together because try purposely to make it happen that way. Because other songs exist enuh. The last two songs that came for the project were Self Defense and Deliverance. Two Iotosh. So like two to three weeks into the album being done, Iotosh has no songs on it. But he ended up with two and it’s like there was another song that was going to be in the place of Self Defense. Everybody was like no this is the energy of it. So that too, I invited people to listen and asked weh we a think? Because it was my first project I was exec for myself, I trusted myself but now it’s time to bring in all the ears dem weh mi like have around. Then I take a survey and say alright, mi feel this way, and then the people I trust feel this way and that’s the process. I would say I figured out sound and direction from I had about six songs. I knew the other four had to come.

“Put it all on the line just to get back this feeling,” is a reference to the first high, or just a feeling from the past?

It’s just thinking back to a time when–thinking back to the highest and best part of my relationship. That song [Weed & Ting] is more about being–first of all conceptually it’s about being present in the moment, that song was a freestyle. The first song in my career that I would classify as a freestyle. I freestyle it in a hotel and I wanted to change even the line “man dem out St Elizabeth too,” because it was so random, but the vibe was very good. When I say the line it’s like, imagine driving, no roof, breeze blowing, you going somewhere like Portland, you have a big spliff. You and your girl a drive, it’s night, unuh just come from a wedding, but everything is good, the energy is so high. But as with everything, moments are fleeting. In life, in relationships, in love, in anything–there is valleys and peaks, hurt, pain and heartbreak. But the line “Put it all on the line just to get back this feeling”  is like you will endure so much and try so hard that you will go back. Because you want that perfect–that nostalgia.

Nostalgia is always very romantic, you would hate high school when you went there but then later on you talking to somebody and say ‘yo remember in high school, it was the best time of my life’ and you’re like really? But it’s like you’ll do anything to get back that nostalgic feeling. That’s what that song is about.

They say that nostalgia is essentially grief, yearning for something that is lost, obviously many of us share this sense of nostalgia, do you think we’re collectively mourning a loss?

Wow. I think that’s a proper drape up still, because I’m obsessed with the past, I’m obsessed with nostalgia. Everything from another time. But it’s all gone, it’s all gone.

Yes we’re mourning many things. We’re mourning time lost, we’re mourning our youth but everything is just  behind you now. Mi always a say this on stage, we always look inna the past and the future but not the present. But at the same time it’s like, when I look back on my past its very warm. I love it. It’s warm. I just saw videos of myself in high school, which I haven’t seen since I was in high school. My mother sent me. The funniest thing bout it, we deh school and me still a beat a hat. Still have on my baseball hat–like everybody’s in school uniform but I haffi a rock something. Always stay so. But yea I love those things and I’m very inspired by nostalgia. To me, that’s one of the things I sing about alot. To me just looking back– like even when I’m present, I’m in the past.

Like Royalty is a dope song because it’s a good overall way to analyze my style. It’s me being in the past and being in the present, as much as writing can be present but I wrote it in the present. I’m looking at my life and looking at the contrast of him [Stagga] taking care of me, to me taking care of him. Then it’s that and an analysis of both those two things[my present and past]. This is me and being in LA together, realizing my dreams that he has helped me with, and then the final thing is yo, your child is my child. That is how I kinda write, is like a little essay. I try to write mini essays in between so you get that. Mi always a dance between my past and present and how they relate.

Very similar for me. Find myself listening to alot of old music. Music that wasn’t popular in my time but reminds of when I was young and my parents used to listen to them. 

That is the thing I was going to say, you know what we’re f-cking mourning bro? What it meant to be young. Mi just get it now. We’re mourning the death of our childhood. It’s the pureness that we had as children. The pureness that the world seemed like to you and for some children it wasn’t that. I’m just saying from my perspective, being a child was the most amazing thing. Is like the worries, the responsibilities, the understanding- you just didn’t understand. My daughter don’t understand. She don’t get the concept of life and death, she don’t get the concept that ‘I may have to bury my father’. She doesn’t understand loss.

Another thing that nostalgia helps me with is, it helps me to remain a child. It makes me realize that I’m just like my daughter. Me just big and know more things but if me can operate on her medz–trust me bro. She get over things, she back to normal, she nah hang on pon things. Me and she kick off bout something and me haffi talk to her stern and she feel disappointed is like by the end of the day she just–yknow its like a energy. We don’t think that it’s possible, but it’s possible if she can do it, why can’t you do it?

In Search Of Lost Time is available on Apple Music and Spotify.