Alexx A-Game 'crosses markets' with new Tory Lanez collab
Published:Monday | July 30, 2018 | 12:00 AMKimberley Small/Gleaner Writer
Alexx Gallimore, better known as Alexx A-Game, has been on a solo mission, pounding the pavements of the local and international music circuit for the past four years. He first came to public attention in 2012 as the lead vocalist for the promising, but now defunct, Di Blueprint Band.
Today, the rising solo star releases his latest single called Double, featuring Canadian R&B-rap heavyweight Tory Lanez.
"Collaborating with Tory was a dream come true. Mi feel like mi discover Tory - from his mixtape days. I'm a day one fan of his work, so being on a track with him was a goal," Alexx told The Gleaner.
According to Alexx, the international star reached out to personally express his love of the new release.
"He put his soul into his verse. I could see and hear that. That energy made the music video process flawless," he said.
The music video was shot in Miami and will be released in August.
NOT CONFORMING TO LABELS
Similar to Lanez, who can sing with an R&B tone and raps like a hip-hop artiste on the same track, Alexx has also decided to abandon particular labels in an effort to grab international attention regardless of the music genre (or the amalgam of music genres) presented.
"Me just see myself as one of what I would call not the leaders of the new era, but a representative of the era. You can't put a label on we," Alexx said.
"People always struggle to label my music. Is it reggae? Is it dancehall? I'm Jamaican, and I kinda lock my hair, so people don't know where to place me. It doesn't put me in a box, and I kinda like that," he continued.
"I'm trying to break into the urban international market. I don't want to say crossover, but to integrate the markets, not the music," Alexx said.
"I like when people can cross markets with different styles. Music is music, and it's evident with dancehall. It's obvious. If Drake and Justin Bieber can make a dancehall song, take it to number one on the Billboard and still stay true to their sound, it proves that music is a universal thing, not a world thing - a universe ting. We have to take that same example," Alexx told The Gleaner.
Major international music news generators The Source, LargeUp, Riddim Magazine, and others have offered their platforms to premiere the song. In addition to Double, Alexx is focused on the promotion of his previously released singles I Know and Go Hard.