After kicking off the year with a 73-day stint in a U.S. immigration detention center, Jamaican dancehall artist Chronic Law is finally free — and he’s telling his story on his own terms.
On Friday (April 24), the Caribbean Music Award-winning deejay released I.C.E. (Inside, Cold & Empty), an aptly titled nine-track project that traces his faith journey during his detainment. Arriving via Collect Di Bred, 1Law & Notnice Records, and primarily produced by Notnice — who helmed Vybz Kartel & Spice’s 2009 crossover hit “Romping Shop” — I.C.E. infuses Law’s signature trap-dancehall soundscape with ample doses of brass-laden roots reggae and choir-anchored gospel.
“Mi mek this EP fi give Jah thanks,” Law tells Billboard. “Me’s a man that believe inna God, but mi never really take the time fi read my Bible. Mi nuh take di time fi even give Jah thanks for nothing at all, just a live life and move fast. But when things slowed down, mi start reading my Bible and talk to Jah. And some things, only Father God alone can do.”
Born Ackeme Jermaine Campbell in St. Thomas, Chronic Law has emerged as one of the defining voices of contemporary dancehall. Boasting hits such as “Don’t Fall,” and last year’s “NY Girls,” and “Badness Upgrade 2.0” (his take on the viral “WYFL” riddim), Law has quickly differentiated himself from his peers through his versatility and vulnerability. Never afraid to get introspective and truly survey the depths of his emotions on wax, fans commonly refer to Law as their collective “therapist.” According to Luminate, Chronic Law collected over 86.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams in 2025, and he’s already garnered over 25.4 million official streams this year (through April 16).
On Jan. 12, Law was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and three days later (Jan. 15), he was transported to South Florida Detention Facility, nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. “For di first week [of detainment] mi nuh think pon mi music, mi just think of come out,” he says. “But after the first week and three days, mi a seh, ‘I want a pen and paper.’ I needed to exercise my mind, rather than just sit down and think about outside.”
Keeping in tradition with artists forced to transform their recording processes while under state surveillance, Chronic Law wrote his entire I.C.E. project over the phone. During pre- and post-breakfast down periods, Law would have his manager, Bashy, play Notnice’s riddims over the phone. Since those calls were limited to 15 minutes per session, the collaborators moved quickly, sifting through riddims for Law to handwrite his lyrics to. As a freestyler, Law rarely wrote out his lyrics — but this disruption in his routine gave way to a new understanding of that particular approach to songcraft.
“A long time mi nuh write, a good while,” he reflects. “Mi a man that just go inna studio, play the riddim and f—k har out [get it done]. But when I sing off top, I don’t have time to fix things. Yuh nuh get time fi look at [your lyrics] and correct them. When I write, I can change lines and give [myself] more time to process.”
That extra processing time resulted in lyrics that house some of Law’s most thematically consistent and visually arresting bars yet. “Couple dog turn fraud, is a catty mek e call/ And me no short suh mi affi stand tall/ Everglades, this a cage inna alligator yard,” he sing-raps in the first verse of “Like Samson,” the set’s resilient lead single, which arrived on April 17. Law’s vocal performance is also noticeably more wistful, especially on cuts like “Prayer Work,” which was the first song he recorded the same day he was released from ICE custody. From the Bonnie & Clyde-nodding “Ride or Die” to the rapturous closer “If a Neva God,” I.C.E. is relentlessly honest in its recounting of how Law’s faith — and overall psyche — evolved during his detainment.
On March 26, Chronic Law shared an Instagram post captioned, “God bless,” seemingly confirming his release from I.C.E. custody without charge. There remains no publicly disclosed explanation for his arrest, with the dancehall star simply telling Billboard, “Dem have dem reason.” Regardless, he hasn’t let this experience deter him from expressing his truth and life story in his music, stressing, “Yuh cyan judge me through my music.”
Although I.C.E. is a heavier project, Chronic Law promises a variety of new projects to come in 2026, including a reggae compilation and something “fi di gyal dem.” Above all, he hopes peers and fans alike are inspired to “get closer to God” instead of “putting [their] trust” in people after listening to his soul-baring new EP.
“Some tougher songs are coming,” he says, “The time I’m putting in… it’s a different type of thing I found.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.billboard.com ’
