Jamaican reggae dancehall songstress, Koffee has released her highly-anticipated studio project tagged “Gifted album”.
Apparently, the new body-of-work, Gifted album houses 10-solid tracks and has no guest appearance.
“I know one song won’t change everything, but all I have is my voice,” Koffee tells Apple Music. “So, that’s what I’ll use to speak out. I might not be affected by certain injustices directly, but living in a place like Jamaica, you can’t avoid the truth of it.
There’s youths here that have grown up with violence right on their doorstep, and I’m not just representing myself now—I also must speak out for them.”
In 2019, the world bowed as Koffee—real name Mikayla Simpson—unveiled her innovative blend of reggae, dancehall and sculpted rap flows on the Grammy-winning EP Rapture. That was a historic victory, too, seeing Koffee become the youngest and first female winner of the Best Reggae Album award.
The pandemic could’ve threatened to slow her rise, but she instead leaned into the rich musical heritage of Jamaica (the spirit of Bob Marley is present on “x10”, while “Lonely” is a stunning ode to ’80s lovers rock) and the expertise of her live band to help craft a gorgeous, rich debut album.
Koffee, whose real name is Mikayla Simpson, took to Instagram to share the good news along with the album cover of her in a side pose dressed in a white sweater with blue piping and her locks done in an upsweep, looking upwards as if trying to generate even more inspiration from the man upstairs. The caption read,
“My debut album Gifted is out now! I think it is important to inject a positive energy into the world and that’s what I’ve channeled into this album,” she said. “Thank you for all the support! Thank God for keeping and loving me! We have life, we are blessed.”
Gifted, the new 10-track album features something for everyone, especially those in the Diaspora who are missing ‘Yard’ and need a little reminder of how despite our size and all of our many challenges, there simply is no place remotely comparable to ‘Jamrock.’ With Gifted, she provides some fresh sounds and clear and crisp vocals; hence listeners, especially those who are unfamiliar with the Jamaican accent, can still understand and decipher every word that she sings.
Koffee pays homage to her island’s heritage on tracks such as “X10” and “Lonely”, which are nods to Bob Marley and lover’s rock, respectively, while the JAE5-produced singles “Pull Up” and “Shine” encourage people to never give up on their dreams no matter their present situation.
Already popular anthems such as “Lockdown” provide social commentary about what is happening in the world, while “West Indies” will rally Jamaicans to embrace that patriotic spirit and represent strong with their black, green, and gold.
See Gifted album track list below;
Stream and share your thoughts
https://open.spotify.com/album/3OcgIT5qeI4lZnaUHqLQLi
Since dropping her Grammy-winning EP Rapture, the “Lockdown” entertainer has continued to fly the Jamaican flag far and wide and has been hailed as the new face of things wholesome and good about an industry that is generally viewed as too jaded, too violent, too controversial and too raunchy to be everybody’s cup of tea.
Koffee has been able to avoid this pitfall, transcend the stigma, and therefore has received mainstream endorsements from major brands such as MasterCard and Clarks.
