10 Best Songs From Late Jamaican Legend Cocoa Tea (Critic’s Picks)

Produced by Bobby “Digital” Dixon and recorded on the powerful Black Woman & Child Riddim, “Moving On” is a mobilizing cry for unity throughout the African diaspora and beyond: “You’re a Black man living in Jamaica, they’ll call you Afro-Jamaican, but we’re not worried about race, color, class nor your creed, neither your nationality as long as you are living in peace, love, and harmony, well that’s good enough for me, cause we’re moving on.”

On June 10, 2020, as protests proliferated around the world calling for justice in the death of George Floyd, Cocoa Tea released a lyric video for “Moving On.” The song’s enduring message of solidarity sounds as if it was written to soundtrack the Black Lives Matter movement, another example of the prescience in Cocoa Tea’s words and the healing power of his music. Listen here.

Cocoa Tea silky, supple vocals detail the struggles of a woman whose been through failed relationships and now wants to live without stress, summed up by the lyrics, “She want a good life, no man to cause her pain and strife.” With Sly & Robbie and the Firehouse Crew beautifully recreating the classic 1967 Studio One riddim Party Time under the production of Burrell, “Good Life” is a lovers rock gem with a storyline that will resonate throughout time, especially among female music fans. Listen here.

“Dem a call us pirates, illegal broadcasters, just because we play what the people want.” Recorded in Jamaica at a time when the Department of Trade and Industry in England was shutting down various pirate radio stations that were significant platforms for reggae and dancehall culture, the song’s topical theme (suggested by producer Augustus “Gussie” Clarke) and the sublime vocal interplay between Cocoa Tea, singer Home T and gruff voiced superstar deejay Shabba Ranks proved to be an irresistible hit-making combination, especially when set to a bass-thumping beat, embellished with echo and reverb. Listen here.

Cocoa Tea’s tale of romantic heartbreak is contrasted by his upbeat scat singing over a popular early 1980s dancehall riddim, Diseases (producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes’ remake of a 1967 beat called the Mad Mad) just prior to Jamaican music’s digital revolution. Cocoa Tea candidly bemoans his beloved Sonia’s departure with another man, but it’s unclear if he’s done anything to hasten her exit. Listen here.

The clarion call for Rastas and all people of good intent to exit Babylon before it’s too late is heightened by the urgency in Cocoa Tea’s vocals, his dulcet, welcoming tone and a shimmering, uptempo reggae rhythm, produced by Phillip “Fatis” Burrell. “Hurry Up & Come” is an anthem for rallying spiritual strength during tough times: “Jah promised to strengthen the weak and give sight to the blind/Don’t matter what the oppressors do inna this yah Armageddon time, ooh yes, Rasta is here to conquer all trials and tribulations/So, pack your little grip and come, let’s leave out of Babylon.” Listen here.

Cocoa Tea originally wrote “Tune In” as a special (a customized recording not for commercial release) for a Canadian sound system. However, when King Jammy heard it, he insisted the song be issued as a single. The sweetly rocking tempo is ideally suited to Cocoa Tea’s cool, laid-back approach and his expansion of the word “in” to five syllables created a dancehall classic. Like “Come Again,” “Tune In” revels in the dancehall experience and acknowledges the music’s burgeoning international appeal: “Watch di posses outta England and di one dem from America, even those from a Japan enjoying themselves”; “Watch di one dem outta Germany (skanking) and di one dem outta Canada (rocking), even those in Somalia enjoying themselves.” Listen here.

Borrowing the melody from the Christmas ditty “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Come Again” celebrates the sights, sounds, energy and of course the music of the Jamaican dancehall. Cocoa Tea’s scat inflected, effervescent vocals deliver an odd yet delightful lyrical smorgasbord, from his refusal to reveal any secrets to his friends, to calling for a proper vocal mix over the crisp early digital Cat Paw riddim (produced by King Jammy) to disclosing his ultimate mission: “Cocoa Tea come fi keep dis a dancehall, yes, alive.” Mission accomplished. Listen here.

“This one is designed for 18 and over” chants Cocoa Tea on the intro to “Young Lover” as he responsibly eschews the advances of an underage beauty, admonishing her actions as a means of protecting her innocence: “Hey girl, won’t you go home, go home to your mamma, your mamma, go home to your pappa, your pappa, you’re too young to be my lover.”

Utilizing a bubbling backbeat with a cheerful keyboard line, Cocoa Tea’s engaging delivery powers the significant sentiment expressed in “Young Lover.” At a time when the exploitation of underage girls continues, the song’s overall message needs to be put on repeat and played loudly. Listen here.

The quintessential riddim of Jamaica’s mid-1990s Rasta renaissance in dancehall reggae was the Kette Drum, produced by the late Bobby “Digital” Dixon and named after the West African hand-held instrument heard at Rastafarian Nyabinghi celebrations. Over that majestic backbeat, anchored in meditative drumming and embellished by acoustic-guitar strums, Cocoa Tea laid down a stunning, impassioned affirmation of his Rastafari way of life. “Holy Mount Zion” offers a rejection of the corrupt Babylon system and an intention to repatriate to Zion — that is Ethiopia, Rastafari’s ancestral homeland — and ranks alongside any classic made during roots reggae’s 1970s golden era. Listen here.

In 1975, Jamaican singer John Holt’s hit “Up Park Camp” issued a stern warning to the youths to stay out of trouble and avoid being sent to the Kingston detention center, Up Park Camp (Gun Court). In 1991 Cocoa Tea transformed the song into a cautionary tale instructing young Jamaicans living in the New York City area not to “skylark” (waste time) but “learn a trade or go to school,” otherwise, you might end up at “Rikers Island.” Said to be inspired by Henry “Junjo” Lawes’ incarceration at the notorious jail complex, Cocoa Tea’s compelling narration of various actions undertaken by individuals who pursued criminal exploits, over a spirited riddim track created by Steely & Clevie and produced by Cargill “Mr. Doo” Lawrence, found an audience beyond reggae and further elevated the singer’s career. Listen here.