A few weeks after winning the Digicel Rising Stars competition in 2007, Virgo met Donovan Germain who produced his first hit record "Mi Caan Sleep" on the Penthouse label. Several hit singles followed, including "Wanna Go Home", "Live Mi Life", and "Alton's Medley". In June 2010, VP Records released his debut self-titled album. Virgo's 2018 album Lovesick gave him his first number one album on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
Back with his fourth studio album under VP Records, reggae superstar Romain Virgo dove headfirst into the dreamy waves of lover’s rock across The Gentle Man, arguably his most personal and revelatory album yet. Opening with the reflective, Mascika-assisted lead single “Been There Before,” Virgo leaned heavily into the introspective, weaving his earnest tone around the track’s soothing melody. “I’ve been there before / Everything a go alright, memba di darkness part a di night / Is just before daylight,” he promised.
Radio-ready melodies and sticky hooks popped up across the LP from the falsetto-tinged “Switch You On” to the sweeping chorus of “Driver” – and that sheen balanced the headier themes that permeated the record. On “I Believe” – a nice complement to the bouncy, joyous “Good Woman” – Virgo recruited Patoranking and Silly Walks Discotheque for a tender, loving ode to a hardworking woman who always kept her faith regardless of her circumstances. The track blended tinges of gospel in the hook’s background harmonies, further evoking the Biblical stories of strong, loyal women. In tandem, Virgo effortlessly morphed into a bachelor on tracks like “Red Dress,” albeit a tasteful one that prioritized mature, if not wistful, seduction over straightforward sleaze. The reflective nature of his tone on “Red Dress” provided another angle to his album- long exploration of introspection.
A remarkably consistent effort, The Gentle Man found its standout track in “Want You Now,” a flashy vocal showcase that featured a blazing synergy between Virgo’s lovely vibrato, the thumping percussion, and funky guitars. Likewise, “Take It Or Leave It” and “You Must Pay” also emerged as two of the record’s most impressive offerings. The former found Virgo employing a rap-sung cadence over a trap-infused reggae fusion beat tempered with flashes of R&B, an instant stunner that lent itself to a show-stopping live arrangement. The latter, on the other hand, found Virgo tapping roots reggae legend Capleton for a gorgeous album closer. Over a brass-accented arrangement, the two artists forged gorgeous harmonies, achieving the perfect marriage of Capleton’s gruff, impassioned tone and Virgo’s silky belts.
Stacked to the brim with undeniable hits and fearless expansions of lover’s rock and roots reggae as both genres and schools of thought, The Gentle Man was another stellar album from Romain Virgo.