Xana Romeo ADD

Music To The Max... New Xana Romeo & Max Romeo Single - Over All

11/22/2025 by Jessica Knight

MUSIC TO THE MAX: Xana Romeo releases the first single from her upcoming album on Max Romeo’s birthday!

I once had the pleasure of hearing Azana Makeda Smith, aka Xana Romeo, buss out a flawless operatic scale just as the birds were rising up. That was back when she was working on her second studio album, The Roots of X, released 2021. Now, with the upcoming release of her third offering, due out in January 2026, you can expect to hear some well-placed, immaculately controlled trills as Xana continues to develop as a young Roots artist. The ‘trill-effect’ is just one of the distinct sounds that Xana contributes to the Reggae legacy that she was born into.

The first taste of this album is a single of significance. Over All features Max Romeo singing some ancient biblical verse, and was recorded shortly before his death in April 2025. “The song is being released on November 22nd,” says Xana, “that’s my dad’s birthday. So this means a lot to me.”

She’s not the only one for whom Max’s contribution will forever touch deep. Micah Shemaiah, who features on the album, says, “I loved working on that project. I have a feeling is going be a historic album.”

Then there’s Dub Wizard Omar ‘Jallanzo’ Johnson, who participated in the recording session for the single Over All remotely, being abroad at the time. He laughs when recollecting the day that Max added his vocals. “You know them old school man?” Lanzo says of Max’s professionalism. “Him just went in the studio, him siddung, listen to the riddim, cock him head, light him spliff: One cut, like a champ. Then a talk normal like him don’t just create history to bloodcleet.” Lanzo worked on the Over All mix after Max passed, and says that hearing his voice is when “it hit me hard.”

Addis Pablo, himself branching out from the musical seeds planted by his late father, Augustus Pablo, adds some melodica to the mix. And there we have it: Max Romeo’s roots are firmly in place. Perched high on the branches is Xana, ready to further the works from the Reggae family tree that supports her, from this realm and the next, as she takes flight.

What more could a father wish for on his Earthstrong?

The single Over All is released with two dub versions: