Calvin George Scott (born 3 September 1959), better known as Cocoa Tea, is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

singer and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Biography

Born in Rocky Point, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Cocoa Tea was popular in

from 1985, but has become successful worldwide since the 1990s. One of his most famous songs is " Rikers Island", which was later put into a

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Smi ...

version by Nardo Ranks entitled "Me No Like Rikers Island" (featured on ''Dancehall Reggaespanol'') which was released the same year as the original "Rikers Island". He also gained fame with the song "Young Lover". He gained notoriety in March 2008 after releasing a song titled "Barack Obama" in support of the US

Presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

by the same name. Cocoa Tea's song "Jah Made Them That Way" from his 1984 album ''Rocking Dolly'' interpolates "Human Nature" by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and "Answer Mi Question" by

Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dill ...

. He initiated the annual New Year's Eve events Dancehall Jam Jam in 2003; It ran until 2009, with plans to resurrect it in 2015.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2014)
Cocoa Tea Looks to Sunset in Negril
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014 After recording for many of the top reggae labels including

VP Records VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, ...

Greensleeves Records Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to ''Greensleeves Records'', is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records sta ...

and

Ras Records RAS Records, also known as Real Authentic Sound, is a reggae record label. History RAS Records was founded in 1979 by Doctor Dread. In his travels to Jamaica he created a network within the reggae artist community there. By the early to mid-198 ...

, he started his own Roaring Lion label around 2000.

Discography

Albums

* ''Weh Dem A Go Do...Can't Stop Cocoa Tea'' (1984), Volcano * ''I Lost My Sonia'' (1985), Volcano * ''Settle Down'' (1985), Corner Stone * ''Mr. Coco Tea'' (1985), Corner Stone * ''Sweet Sweet Coco Tea'' (1985), Blue Mountain * ''The Marshall'' (1985), Jammy's * ''Cocoa Tea'' (1986), Jimpy's * ''Come Again'' (1987), Jammy's * ''Rikers Island'' (1991), VP * ''Rocking Dolly'' (1991), RAS * ''Authorized'' (1991),

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

* ''Kingston Hot'' (1992), RAS * ''I Am the Toughest'' (1992), VP * ''Weh Dem A Go Do - Can't Stop Cocoa Tea'' (1992), VP * ''One Up'' (1993), Greensleeves * ''Good Life'' (1994), VP * ''Sweet Love'' (1994), VP * ''Tune In'' (1994), Greensleeves * ''Can't Live So'' (1994), Shanachie * ''Come Love Me'' (1995), VP * ''Israel's King'' (1996), VP * ''Holy Mount Zion'' (1997), Motown * ''One Way'' (1998), VP * ''Unforgettable'' (2000), Roaring Lion * ''Feel the Power'' (2001), VP * ''Tek Weh Yuh Gal'' (2004), Kings of Kings * ''Save Us Oh Jah'' (2006), VP * ''Biological Warfare'' (2007), Minor7Flat5 * ''Yes We Can'' (2009), Roaring Lion * ''In a Di Red'' (2012), VP * ''Sunset in Negril'' (2014), Roaring Lion

Split albums

* ''Corner Stone Presents Clash Of The 80's'' (1986), Corner Stone - Cocoa Tea &

Barrington Levy Barrington Ainsworth Levy (born 30 April 1964) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. Career Levy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. He formed a band called the Mighty Multitude, with his cousin, Everton Dacres; the pair released "My Bl ...

* ''Clash'' (1985), Hawkeye -

Tenor Saw Clive Bright (2 December 1966 – August 1988), better known as Tenor Saw, was a Jamaican dancehall singjay in the 1980s, considered one of the most influential singers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit "Rin ...

& Cocoa Tea * ''Showdown Vol 8'' (1986), Hitbound -

Frankie Paul Paul Blake (19 October 1965 – 18 May 2017), better known as Frankie Paul, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'. Biography Born in Jamaica in 1965, Blake was born blind bu ...

& Cocoa Tea * ''Another One for the Road'' (1991),

- Home T, Cocoa Tea, and

Cutty Ranks Philip Thomas (born 12 February 1965), better known as Cutty Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall singer. Biography Thomas was born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica in 1965. He began his career as a reggae artist at the age of eleven with local sound s ...

* ''Holding On'' (1991), VP - Cocoa Tea,

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

, and Home T, a.k.a. ''Pirate's Anthem'' * ''Sanchez Meets Cocoa Tea'' (1993), Jet Star - with Sanchez * ''Legit'' (1993), Shananchie - Cocoa Tea,

Freddie McGregor Freddie McGregor (born 27 June 1956, in Clarendon, Jamaica) is a Jamaican singer, musician and record producer. His music career began when he was seven years old. Biography In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The C ...

, and

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

* ''Israel Vibration Meets Cocoa Tea'' (1999), Cactus * ''Another One For The Road (Greensleeves 30th Anniversary Edition)'' (2007), Greensleeves - Home T, Cocoa Tea, and

Compilation albums

* ''20 Tracks of Cocoa Tea'' (1991), Sonic Sounds * ''RAS Portraits'' (1997), RAS. * ''In His Early Days'' (1998), Corner Stone * ''Best Of'' (1999), Socadisc * ''Reggae Legends Vol 3'' (1999), Artists Only * ''Kings of Reggae'' (2002), Nocturne * ''Live in Jamaica'' (2002), Sankofa * ''Reggae Anthology: The Sweet Sound of Cocoa Tea'' (2008), 17 North Parade * ''Reggae Legends'' (2009), 17 North Parade * ''The Best of Cocoa Tea'' (2012), Jammy's * ''Music is Our Business'' (2019), VP

In popular culture

His song "We Do The Killing" was sampled in the

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...

song "Set Me On Fire", which is included on their album ''

Immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux#Immersion, Léo Quievreux * Immersion (album), ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian gro ...

''.

References

External links

Cocoa Tea
Biography of Cocoa Tea

Artists Only! Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocoa Tea 1959 births Living people Jamaican dancehall musicians Jamaican reggae musicians People from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Greensleeves Records artists VP Records artists