A song from 2015 just picked up a brand new Platinum plaque, and it came from about as far from Kingston as you can get. Protoje and Chronixx’s “Who Knows” was officially certified Platinum in New Zealand on Thursday, October 8.
Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ) confirmed the award, which represents 30,000 units in combined sales and streaming equivalents. It’s the track’s first Platinum certification in the country, arriving more than ten years after the song first dropped.
That timing is the real story here. Most songs peak and fade within a year or two, but “Who Knows” keeps finding new listeners long after its original run. The track kept building in New Zealand until it finally crossed the line.
This isn’t the first time the song has been recognised overseas either. Back in 2022 it earned a BRIT Certified Silver Award in the United Kingdom after passing 200,000 units, as tracked by the Official Charts Company.
The numbers online tell a similar story. Who Knows” has racked up more than 255 million views on YouTube and over 135 million streams on Spotify, which is serious traction for a reggae single.
For anyone who missed it the first time, the song was produced by Phillip “Winta” James of Overstand Entertainment. It appeared on Protoje’s third studio album, Ancient Future, released in 2015.
That record did well on its own terms. Ancient Future reached No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and spent 17 weeks on the ranking, putting Protoje firmly at the front of a new wave of Jamaican reggae artists alongside Chronixx.
The pairing made sense then and it still does. Protoje’s reflective lyricism and Chronixx’s easy melodic delivery gave the hook the kind of staying power that travels well beyond the Caribbean.
There’s another angle that makes this certification land at an interesting moment. Both artists are now among the contenders for Best Reggae Album at the 2027 Grammy Awards, with Chronixx’s Exile and Protoje’s The Art of Acceptance both released during the eligibility period.
So the two artists who once shared a hit could end up competing against each other for the same trophy. It’s a neat twist, with an old collaboration still climbing while their newest solo projects chase the genre’s biggest award.
For fans, the Platinum plaque feels like confirmation of something they already sensed. “Who Knows” was never just a 2015 moment, and with streams still rolling in across continents, the next certification might not be far behind.