Romain Virgo and Masicka ‘Been There Before’

When reggae star Romain Virgo teased a line from Been There Before, his collaboration with Masicka, the feedback from his fans on Instagram was more than he hoped for.

Virgo, the former child star who most people remember as a teenager in All Together Sing and Digicel Rising Stars, told THE WEEKEND STAR that this song is his most personal yet, and hailed Masicka for assisting in sealing it up.

"This song means the most to me in terms of my upbringing. When people used to ask me which of my songs connects with me the most, I used to say Who Feels it Knows it, but Been There Before has replaced it," Virgo shared.

The artiste, who celebrated his 34th birthday on Wednesday, said that having the song premiere two days later is the best birthday present he could ever receive. The plan was to fly to New York to spend his birthday with his wife and return to Jamaica in time for the song's premiere.

"I just feel that Jamaica is the place to be when you have a song to be released," the father of twin daughters shared.

Virgo, who hails from Stepney in St Ann, said that listening to the rhythm evoked memories of the past and the struggles that he and his family faced together, as well as those he is still facing today. He knew that he had to find the right words to express all of that in a powerful song. Soon after, Been There Before was born, and with it the idea to collaborate with a dancehall artiste.

"This is one of those times in my life when I feel proud and happy that we as a team hold on to what we believe in. We felt an energy with this song and we brainstormed on what we could do to make it even more powerful. We decided to ask Masicka to be a part of it," Virgo explained. He shared that Masicka, when asked "was ready and willing right away" and that meant a lot to him.

"I have a high level of respect for Masicka from day one and I didn't know that he felt the same way about me. Masicka is a conscious dancehall artiste. I admire his level of understanding and consciousness of self. On this song, his voice, his diction, his soul as a deejay is felt ... and it connects with the fans," Virgo stated.

The theme of Been There Before is hope in adversity and seeing the bright light at the end of the tunnel. An accompanying music video will be released soon.