Album Premiere: Lost Files – JaDon Blaxx (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

If Dancehall arrived in the seventies as reggae’s leaner, faster, more street-charged younger sibling, then Lost Files is a clear snapshot of where that lineage sits today—an evolution of Jamaican roots filtered through a modern, urban lens.

All sounds evolve, of course. Technology shifts, fashions turn over, and genres inevitably absorb the world around them. The trick—the real art—is making sure the core DNA remains intact. And that’s precisely what JaDon Blaxx gets right.

Across ten killer tracks, he pushes Dancehall to the cutting edge without ever losing sight of what made it such a potent sonic force in the first place. The energy, the attitude, the rhythmic infectiousness—all still there, all still beating at the heart of the music. Lost Files isn’t just current; it’s connected, it’s where it’s at. It honours the lineage even as it moves the whole genre forward.

“All Night Long,” a rap/toasting/sung duet aided and abetted by Wezi, sets the sonic stall perfectly: a buoyant, brilliant blast of dance grooves, liquid beats, silky sonics, and of-the-moment musicality.

And so the rest of the album goes: “Feel Alright” is more considered but no less impactful, all skittering drum patterns and an electronic bass pulse; “Intoxicated” makes itself felt with that trademark on-the-one kick; and “Party Vybes” is nothing short of a percussive mission statement.

Yes, genres move on, sounds move with the times, styles explore new avenues, get mixed and matched, and merged with neighbouring sounds and scenes. It’s simply what they do; it’s what they must do, it’s how the future is created. It is clear from this album that JaDon Blaxx understands this all too well.