MIGRATION has sounded the death knell of many a reggae artiste’s career. However, singjay Chuckle Berry has seemingly had a change in fortunes since moving to Toronto, Canada, two years ago.

Real Life, a song he recorded with Luciano, recently topped the Under Pressure chart, a regional reggae list compiled by Energy Radio Television, a station located in Pordenone, Italy.

Produced in Toronto by Chris ‘DJ Chris’ Serre, Real Life has broadened Chuckle Berry’s view of the reggae market which he says was once limited to the Jamaican scene.

“I am a Jamaican an’ mi love mi country ‘bawd’, but music don’t really sell in Jamaica so that’s why I don’t focus on there alone,” he told the Jamaica Observer recently.

To help him break in different markets, Chuckle Berry says he is working with several small independent record companies including Smoke Shop, Rite Link and Newbrandmusic, the Toronto label responsible for pushing Real Life.

“We recorded the song in the summer when ‘Luci’ was in the Greater Toronto Area. DJ Chris gave us the track and we just killed it instantly,” he said.

According to Chuckle Berry, he is currently working on two albums, one for Newbrandmusic and another with Sly and Robbie. The ‘Riddim Twins’ produced a clutch of songs for him back in the day, including So Bad, Good Life and Johnny Be Good.

They got consistent airplay but never gave Chuckle Berry the desired hit.

Born Byron Brown, Chuckle Berry hails from rustic Steer Town in St Ann, a farming community that has produced its share of talent. Singer Justin Hinds of Carry Go Bring Come-fame is a son of the soil while his friend, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, has been a decades-long visitor to the community.

Rebel singer Peter Tosh, another reggae star Richards befriended, is one of Chuckle Berry’s biggest influences, as well as Bob Marley.

Moving to Kingston, he ‘voiced’ for a number of producers but the big hit still eluded him after nearly a decade in the business. In 2010, he moved to Toronto, a city finally coming into its own reggae-wise with the emergence of promising artistes and producers.

Chuckle Berry says his album for Newbrandmusic will be released in 2013 but adds there is no haste to get it out.

“We are not rushing it because good things always take time. Haste makes waste an’ wi can’t afford that.”