🎶 IJ Chris - Where You Gonna Hide

"No place to run. No place to hide." "Mothers mourning. Mourning Fathers deceased." (Lyric outtakes)

From the album Life's Messages. Recorded in 2006.

🎶 Various Artistes - Sticky Situation (Green)

🇭🇹 Roots Version

Vocalists: Brina (UK), IJ Chris (Jamaica), Sheldon Senior (Jamaica), Winsome Benjamin (Jamaica)

Verse Lyrics - by performing artistes

Chorus Lyrics - Christopher A Smith

Vocal Recordings by performing artistes

Composers: RA Burton, KC Murray

🎶 SE11 DUB-STEP JAM - Various Artistes

Song: "It's A Man's World"

When IJ Chris was over a close musician friend, Mark Matthew, suggested we meet up and take Chris to meet Freddie Notes. Freddie still lived next to my senior school. He was employed by the school as the Music Assistant in my 5th year and I also saw him and his band (at the local Surrey Tavern venue) when they were backing Desmond Dekker on his 1st tour in England. Even after all the years in-between he still remembered.

Anyway, Freddie and the band were rehearsing and they encouraged Chris to join in. He sang along and then started to lyric his own parts towards the end. The guitarist got into a zone as well towards the end.

With no 'smart phones' in those days, I had taken my camera/video recorder to get some good quality still shots. With Chris' off-the-cuff invite to sing, I put the camera on. I kept waving to the two 'hangers on' to come out of the way - they got it in the end!

🎶 IJ Chris - Hungry G-Mix

UK Garage version - Club Mix

Backing Vocals: The Gideon; Selah

Lyricists: CA Smith

Composers: J Nunes; RA Burton

Vocal Record: Flo Factory Studio, Kingston, Jamaica

🎶 IJ Chris - Midnight Cry

Part of the Midnight Project

Backing Vocal: Janice Jones

Lyricist: CA Smith

Composer: RA Burton

Production: RA Burton, The Next Room, London, England

Back in 2012 we began the 'Midnight Project' where we used the vocals from one of our reggae releases and sat them on various different genre instrumentals. After 12 experimental instrumental recordings, the very last became the 3rd song version (above) and it's off-shoots. The track was influenced by this and others▼

IJ Chris aka Irie Jah Chris

"Chris has relative links to Ernest Ranglin and Vivian Jones. He has enjoyed some superb coaching from many well-known artistes in his homeland. Never losing sight of the prize of fulfilling his dream of being a singer, Chris would sing at every opportunity, and at particularly low periods, it provided some comfort. He began his musical career during 2004 by recording a number of songs that he had recently composed."

I met Chris on my first visit to Jamaica. I was taken to Florida (Miami initially) by a close friend to help with specifying the finishing of a house nearing completion that she was having built. We stayed in a hotel for 2-days but she talked about travelling on to stay with her sister in Fort Lauderdale. After packing and all jumping in a taxi we ended up at the airport but after the flight took off I noticed it was going in the wrong direction and mentioned it and she said: “I’m taking you to my homeland Jamaica. I want you to see it and meet my Mum”. It was my first ever visit to Jamaica.

We arrived early night and Chris collected us from the airport and took us to the hotel. My friend then told me Chris would be spending 2-days giving me a whirlwind tour of the good and bad of the island. She had planned it all, and I think those 2-days were so she could link up with her 'to be' husband. I fell in love with Jamaica. Chris and I bonded and he became a close friend who drove me whenever (often) I visited the island (and initially staying with my friend’s mum).

It was a year-or-so later that I found out Chris was a budding singer-songwriter after hearing some early recordings (never officially released). With ever growing ability he rapidly improved and eventually those better song recordings appeared on his ‘Life’s Messages’ album. I was with him at the studio and funded those recordings in return for him driving me around. We used to travel around Ocho Rios with a speaker wedged in the rear door window blasting out these songs. In 2005 he performed those songs at the 'Tear Down The Barriers' event and went down a storm.

Shortly after, the daughter of a very well known international musician (who we met on one of the visits) approached him about management. In 2007, she stole his money and disappeared to Switzerland. That well known musician cut her off when he found out. Chris gave up music at that point.

Chris had just returned to music in 2010 after that period of mismanagement in 2007. It was on that visit that he asked me to manage him. Therefore after recording and adding the two new songs to the best of his previous work we created and distributed the ‘Life’s Messages’ album. When the album was finished and published in 2010 I took CD’s over for him to sell and help financially.

His work continued and in 2012 I brought him over to stay with me in London (he had been before and had stayed with that good friend at the beginning of this monologue). He is an incredibly talented songwriter able to write to any genre. One morning he hadn’t slept and was going though my CD collection and had written lyrics to a part of a long Tangerine Dream instrumental song. I remember saying to him: "You did what? How?"

We used that visit for Chris to conduct a number of radio host interviews via Skype.

Source of the 1st paragraph quote is from his bio HERE

🎶 IJ Chris - Better Than Yesterday (Live Demo)

The song that never was. He wrote this for his partner to a rhythm track he was given by another artiste as he was about to come over to England. We never recorded it because we couldn’t find out who created the instrumental (the lyrics are ©). This is a demo performance of the song filmed at my then partner’s home a few days after Chris had arrived. Before even taking his coat off she asked what he was up to. He handed her the instrumental CD and this happened.

The 1st practice run of the unfinished lyrics in my front room after we had both woken up. You'll hear what happens when he runs out of lyrics. We did finish the lyrics. Happy days.

🎶 IJ Chris ft. Gideon - Who G-Mix

UK Garage version - Club Mix

Lyricists: CA Smith; A Nunes

Composer: RA Burton

Vocal Record: Flo Factory Studio, Kingston, Jamaica

Production: RA Burton, The Next Room, London, England