{"id":39177,"date":"2020-03-26T16:57:58","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T15:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=39177"},"modified":"2022-03-23T11:12:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T10:12:55","slug":"koffees-rise-and-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/koffees-rise-and-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Koffee’s rise and music : a message of positivity amidst violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Spanish Town’s native Mikayla Simpson aka Koffee, the first female act to win the Grammy for Best Reggae Album <\/i>(and also the youngest),<\/i> brings a positive message to her newfound stardom, growing from a history of Jamaican violence and religious inspiration.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Koffee has taken a place in Reggae\u2019s continuous penetration into international spaces. The story of her meteoric rise is literally the stuff of <\/span>Legend<\/span><\/i><\/a>. Usain Bolt, multiple Olympic gold medalist and Jamaican hero, was impressed by the 2-minute acoustic song which extolled his better qualities. She would later go on to perform the song at Bolt\u2019s statue unveiling ceremony at Kingston\u2019s National Stadium. Other high profile fans such as Chronixx and Proteje have done their part to help nurture Koffee to become what many see as Reggae\u2019s <\/span>next big thing<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Legend<\/i><\/b> in the making<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

When Koffee was only 12, she was inspired by the music of Proteje to write lyrics with a guitar she borrowed from a friend. The <\/span>Ancient Future <\/span><\/i>artist has now performed alongside the prodigy.\u00a0 At the January 2018 edition of the annual reggae festival <\/span>Rebel Salute<\/span><\/i>, Cocoa Tea introduced Koffee to a massive audience one month before her 18<\/span>th<\/span> birthday.\u00a0 Chronixx, who shares Spanish Town nativity with the star is like an older brother, and has supported young Koffee from the onset of her career \u2013his 2019 UK tour with Koffee contributed immensely to her popularity in the region.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, artists who attain such level of success in their early career find the life of glitz to be a burden. But as interviewers and people who\u2019ve met her say, Koffee is always smiling, or looks to be breaking into one.
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Giving thanks and making it rain<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

This positivity is the creative drive behind much of her discography. On cross-over song \u201c<\/span>W<\/span><\/a>\u201d which features Atlanta rapper Gunna, her vibrant voice proclaims the philosophy: <\/span>\u201ceverything wi do, give thanks.\u201d <\/span><\/i>The video \u2013directed by Matt Baron\u2013 is built on the same theme. It was set in Koffee’s island home, the local people looking unsure about a heavy rain which seems inevitable, the foreshadowing of a storm adding a cinematic effect to their frightened faces. But Koffee isn’t unsure: instead, she seems to know what will come of the rain, singing positivity from rooftops. The film-like sequence of the video ends with money pouring down on the people.\u00a0 And like Koffee would have done, the first reaction of the people was to give thanks.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Positivity can often be viewed as futile. The world, with its many problems, can be a suffocating place. But thanks to music like Koffee\u2019s we’re blessed with a refreshing take on the hassles of today’s existence \u2013 the idiomatic light on the other side of a tunnel. Koffee\u2019s voice is at once energetic and fluid, akin to the sunniness of a bright morning moving one to give thanks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanksgiving is the glue which binds together much of Koffee\u2019s life. She was taught positivity by her mother, a Seventh-day Adventist. Koffee was a participant too: she was in the church choir. Expectedly, a large part of her music is inspired by the uplifting songs of the church which gave succor to the Spanish Town locals who sought warmth within its walls. The visuals for \u201cW\u201d begin in a church where the preacher says: <\/span>not every storm was meant to break you; some things we\u2019re meant to build you.<\/span><\/i> And Koffee sat there on a pew, listening, nodding. She\u2019s applied these lessons in her life. \u201c<\/span>Burning<\/span><\/a>,\u201d is a personal take on Upsetta Records\u2019 <\/span>Ouji Riddim<\/span><\/i> which grew out of the desire to motivate herself. This was despite her disappointment at not getting into post-secondary Sixth Form after she graduated from Ardenne High School. She’s her usual self on the record, singing, <\/span>\u201cNever be ungrateful, life can be such a teacha.\u201d<\/span><\/i> The song was a success: it spent three weeks at number one on The Foundation Radio Network\u2019s <\/span>Top 30 Reggae Chart <\/span><\/i>covering New York City and South Florida. It also got the interest of Major Lazer\u2019s Walshy Fire, who would later co-produce her debut single, \u201c<\/span>Toast<\/span><\/a>,\u201d alongside the Jamaican sound engineer Izybeats.
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