Double X ‘Grateful’ for life’s journey

Double X, formerly Flexx of TOK, started the year with an attitude of gratitude captured in his current single, Grateful.

The track, produced by DJ Blaze Worldwide, is his personal testimony of not only enduring hardship, loss and lows, but embracing the lessons that accompanied his silent battles. The singer said the song was inspired by a combination of experiences that happened after the separation of TOK in 2015.

"Shortly after, so many things were just coming one after the other," Double X told The STAR.

"I felt I had reached a crossroads where I had to find myself as a person -- not as a member of the group. I realised that the things I used to care about and loved to do, I lost interest in them for a moment. I started finding my true self. There were a lot of obstacles on that journey and I lost a lot of friends... It was just a life-changing moment."

Grateful debuted in May 2021, but Double X said he was not focused on promoting it because of personal issues and the nuances of the pandemic. Nonetheless, people identified with the song and encouraged him to promote it, which he started to do as the year culminated.

"I use it as an anthem for myself with all that I've been through personally and I want to let anybody who is going through the same thing know that even though you're going through a rough patch, you still have so many things to be grateful for."

The song will appear on his collaborative album with DJ Blaze Worldwide, slated for release later this year. Double X said the album will be true to the frameworks of dancehall and reggae, while having a fresh sound.

"Reggae is so powerful and I feel like we, as Jamaicans, don't know what we have until it's gone," he said. "We're not playing the reggae or the reggae artistes and at the same time, when a foreign artiste comes and uses the reggae, we a di first one fi cuss. That nuh mek no sense. We have it. If you love it and care about it that much, play it...."