KINGSTON, Jamaica — Eight years after releasing his debut album Phases, which he dedicated to his late mother, recording artiste and producer Chabano Nkani has a reason to celebrate.

Close to You, a song that he recorded and released a few years ago, has received a new lease on life thanks to a viral surge on social media platform TikTok.

This has resulted in a re-release of the song on the Isle of Springs imprint.

According to the reggae singer, who is now based in the United States, the song has been creating a huge buzz.

“Close to You” was released a few years ago but it didn’t get the kind of response it deserved. I don’t know why, probably the market wasn’t ready for it or maybe I didn’t promote it enough. However, I’ve always believed it had the potential to be a hit so earlier this year I decided to shoot a video and release it again. I’m happy I made that decision because the song is doing better than it did before. It’s getting a lot of support from fans in Sierra Leon, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Caribbean,” Chabano Nkani told Observer Online recently.

He continued, “While the airplay is very strong in Jamaica and other places I’ve found out that a lot of people are getting to know Close To You because it has gone viral on TikTok. The official video has over one million views on that social media platform alone.”

Due to renewed interest in the song, Chabano Nkani has sprung into action and commenced work on a new EP.

“I wanted to visit Jamaica in October, but I had cancelled my trip because of the hurricane. However, I plan to visit early next year to complete the production of my first EP. This project will include Close to You along with six new songs,” he said.

Chabano, who got his start in the music industry working at Byron Murray’s In the Streetz Records, did road management for artistes including Hawkeye and Alozade, before he moved into music production.

His production credits include songs by Half Pint, Luciano and Warrior King.