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JAM | Apr 1, 2022

Koffee deserves all her flowers: ‘Gifted’ is a modern-age reggae masterpiece

Gavin Riley

Gavin Riley / Our Today

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Reading Time: 6 minutes
Cover art of Koffee’s debut album, ‘Gifted’. (Photo: Apple Music)

For one whose career started on a meteoric rise, Jamaican reggae wunderkind Koffee continues to amaze and impress with her timely optimism, maturity and characteristic bubbly essence in Gifted, her debut album. 

I won’t lie. I was a little worried for the singjay born Mikayla Simpson. The expectations were so high and I hoped that the now 22-year-old Spanish Town native could deliver a solid follow-up to her Grammy Award-winning EP, Rapture, and that she did!

Cover art of Jamaican reggae artiste Koffee’s EP, ‘Rapture’. (Photo: Apple Music)

Still a talented lyricist, Koffee continues to surround herself with the right team as she returned last Friday (March 25) with a 10-track, 29-minute project laced with instrumental ambrosia. Honestly, I found each song could easily stand on its own and not one of them felt rushed, incomplete or forced. 

Posting on Instagram about Gifted, the artiste wrote: “I think it’s important to inject a positive energy into the world, and that’s what I’ve channelled into this album.” 

From the intro of x10 to the closing melodies of smash hit Lockdown, Gifted is indeed positivity personified, and Koffee reminds the world that being authentic must be encouraged, nurtured and celebrated. 

Here is my reaction to the album: 

x10

(Photo: Instagram @originalkoffee)

Sampling the iconic intro of reggae legend Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, Koffee opens the album with x10, a reflective ode of gratitude to life and staying true to one’s roots. 

If anything, x10 is a poignant tale that success is a double-edged sword but with each new day, there is always an opportunity to seize.

“Hot inna sun, inna snow, yeah,
Live by the sweat of mi brow, hmm,
Me might nuh see tomorrow,
I’m just happy I’m living, yuh know…
I go woah, yeah,
I’m glad I woke up today, ah yeah, aye,
Just as I woke up, I say, yeah,
Couple prayers fi mi family, my friends,
Thank you, Father, for blessing me times ten, yeah, aye.” 

From her Toast days, Koffee has insisted “gratitude is a must”, which she doubles down on in x10, singing appreciation for her mother, family and a close-knit circle of friends.

Defend

Defend is a 58-second interlude where Koffee reflects on the reality of Jamaica’s ballooning crime epidemic and runaway inflation. In her eyes, everyone is feeling the impact of the worsening gun violence and needless bloodshed. 

“Youths ah troop ’round and run fi dem safety,
Look like gunshot ah run di streets dem lately,
Crime ah frustrate wi ‘longside who create it,
Emergency stately, we cyah escape it,
Inflation crazy, for the old lady…
Turn my scheme inna crime scene, yellow tape it,
Koffee nuh haffi be di govament favourite.”

Shine

Koffee performing the track ‘Shine’ from her debut album ‘Gifted’ at a VEVO Lift performance in March 2022. (Photo: Instagram @originalkoffee)

The epitome of laid-back, Koffee runs out on Shine with a bang, accompanied mostly by guitar instrumentals. 

In ‘Shine‘, Koffee sings of being tired of gun-related incidents and anxious for the well-being of her brother but, through it all, she remains defiant that there has to be another way for the inner-city youths to get by in a harsh and brutal society. 

“Sun’s out, issa siren,
Gun violence tiring,
Rise up, issa crime scene,
Dem a try clean like hygiene,
I wanna go chase my dream,
But Babylon vampiring,
Have dem eyes pon my bredda life,
Ah, that’s why dem conspiring,
Unless at my concert, nuh wah see no hands up,
Yeah, no red shirt, nuh wah see no handcuff.
Let’s just stay alive, yeah,
Youths haffi find a way fi put di 9 away, aye,
Peace and love finally,I’ve got to shine, you’ve got to shine,
Doop-doop, da, dum!”

Gifted

The title track is up next and Koffee, now almost halfway into the album, muses about the joys of being young, guided and, you guessed it, GIFTED.

“Level up,
Spain Town, wi original,
Inna Jordans, so we stepping out,
Jah Jah light shine pon mi retina,
Him a guide all di steps I take, yeah,
Guiding the steps, I take, whoa,
Young but mi grateful,
Sit high but mi lay low…
Aye, I’m winning,
Mama, you give mi di prediction, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I have life, I’m blessed, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I’m guided and gifted,
Yeah!”

Lonely

Big people time! Koffee delves deeper into a more empathetic, mature side in ‘Lonely‘. In the track, the singjay tries to convince a love interest that she understands their apprehension in letting their guard down. 

Koffee assures them she has the time and is patient but, as she so eloquently asks, “would you rather be lonely or get to know me”?

The cheery piano and contrasting uptempo then one-drop beat blend well with the lyrics to deliver Koffee’s strongest song and my personal favourite. 

“We’ll go from land to sea,
This ain’t no fantasy darling,
Do anyting yuh wan do,
Let me tek yuh worries of yuh,
Stay right here next to me, yeah,
You’re in good company, darling,
Go anyweh yuh wan go,
Betta come back tomorrow, because,
I know it’s hard to trust sometimes,
But it’s harder to be lonely, yeah,
So would you rather to be lonely?
Yeah? No way,
I know you’re scared to give your heart,
But you gotta get to know me,
I said you gotta get to know me.”

Run Away

Koffee performing the track ‘Run Away’ from her debut album ‘Gifted’ at a VEVO Lift performance in March 2022. (Photo: Instagram @originalkoffee)

In Run Away, the electric guitar, drums and piano share the shine with Koffee in this vibesy number. 

For the duration of the three-minute track, the artiste showers her muse with compliments and tries her hardest to convince the love interest to take an unplanned, daytime trip to euphoria. 

“Aye, darlin’!
Beg yuh fi pick up, I’m calling, yeah,
Beg fi pick up, I’m falling, ooh,
Beg yuh fi pull up, no falling through, yeah,
Call me!
I doh wanna rush, I’m sorry, yeah,
I just wanna love somebody, ooh,
Koffee in di cup, no morning dew, yeah,
Broad miggle day, yeah,
Hardly awake,
Who seh mi never?
Who seh?
Who seh mi never?
Some gimme play,
You’ve got something to say,
Ooh baby, what’s in the way?”

Where I’m From 

In many ways, Where I’m From is Koffee’s tribute to Spanish Town for the good and the bad. 

Despite the gritty reality of the old Jamaican capital, its people are resilient and the town’s most celebrated acts: Chronixx, Govana and Koffee herself are examples of diamonds in the rough, that shine for all, not just some. 

“Where I’m from, yeah, 
Our ting cyah play dung, cho, yeah,
Gwaan Spain Town, tell dem a big dog playground,
Wi nuh too grin and wi nuh play inna playpen, no, yeah,
Wi nuh borrow, pay down, 
De La Vega nuh play but wi beat pon drum, 
Right now wi a lift up every street from ground, yeah,
Mi nuh too soft, mi nuh Play-Doh,
Have a few dawg weh nuh play neither, oh, yeah,
Cyah come bout ya,
Wid yuh screw face and yuh gun powda, cho, 
Wi nuh too care wah yuh think bout day, no way,
Coulda Darth Vader, yeah,
Tell dem seh a Koffee di Archangel, yeah,
When yuh look round, man a call Saviour,
And dem cyah pay cell, cho,
Talk fi yuh self, uhh, 
Uhh yeah, yeah.”

West Indies

If there was any misconception about where Koffee is from, ‘West Indies‘ clears that up with ease. This October 2021 single is another in Koffee’s expanding catalogue of feel-good anthems. 

“We up yah, 
Free up yah, 
Balenciaga pon mi strucha, 
Good hemp cah bush get deduct yah,
Aye, mmm, yeah, yeah, 
Fiesta forever, 
Party whenever,
When we’re together, uhh,
Yeah,
Coming from the West Indies, 
And yuh know seh wi giving dem di best indeed,
Anywhere wi deh, wi do a plex pon street,
And di style weh wi do nuh moderate, stampede. 
Ah nuh interview, nuh bother question me, 
And yuh try never look in my direction, G, 
New bank robber, no Bridgets pon feet,
Oh, coming from the set concrete, yeah, 
If you know me, I’m having the time of my life, 
Don’t you slow me down, beg yuh pardon me,
I wanna just party, yeah, 
I wanna just, tell my managers, yeah,
I wanna just party.”

Pull Up

The more recent single from the album, Pull Up is an Afrobeats-esque, high-octane thrill ride as Koffee spares no expense to enjoy herself and the successes of her career.

Still, her watchful eyes are honed in on a love interest who seems not to realise Koffee exists.

Flashily, Koffee resorts to getting their attention.

“Pull up inna di party, 
I nah watch nobody, 
Pull up inna di ‘Rari, yeah,
Bare feelings dem a carry, 
Pull up inna di Audi, yeah, 
I nah watch nobody, yeah,
Pull up inna di Cartier, 
I nah watch nobody but you.”

Lockdown

Koffee closes out Gifted with her mega-hit Lockdown, released as a standalone single during the initial onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the summer of 2020. 

Her opening line, “Where will we go when di quarantine ting done and everybody touch road?”, rings true given the recent scrapping of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) and the subsequent ‘opening up’ of the entertainment sector.

There you have it! Gifted bears excellent transitions all around, impeccable musical inputs and poignant, lively and timely lyrics as ever. 

Well done, Koffee. Reggae’s future is safe and I can relive the nostalgia for years to come.

4.7 out of 5 stars.

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