Koffee (singer)

Mikayla Simpson (born 16 February 2000), better known as Koffee, is a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, rapper, deejay and guitarist from Spanish Town, Jamaica. She released her debut single "Burning" in 2017, and in 2019 signed with Columbia Records. Her 2019 EP Rapture won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards,[1] making Koffee the youngest person and only woman to be awarded in the Best Reggae Album category.

"Koffee" redirects here. For the radio station formerly known as Koffee, see Smooth Chill (Australian radio station).
Koffee
Background information
Birth nameMikayla Simpson
Born (2000-02-16) February 16, 2000
OriginSpanish Town, Jamaica
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, rapper, deejay
Years active2017–present
LabelsColumbia Records
Associated acts
Websitewww.originalkoffee.com

Biography

Koffee's mother was an occasional actor, Seventh-day Adventist, and a Ministry of Health employee. Koffee's first musical inspirations stemmed from her mother's religious background.[2] She sang in her church choir, taught herself guitar at age 12 on an instrument borrowed from a friend, and began writing lyrics inspired by listening to reggae singer Protoje. She attended Ardenne Highschool in Kingston, Jamaica.

2010s

In 2016, she won her school talent show at Ardenne High School located in Kingston, Jamaica without realizing that the informal show at which she performed in her school cafeteria had been an audition. She went on to learn music theory and vocal technique in her high school choir.[3] A defining moment for Koffee occurred her final year of high school, when she performed at her school's talent show with other gifted artists in front of about 1,000 people. She indicated that the show gave her the first bit of confidence to perform and deliver music live.[4]

Koffee gained popularity after uploading a video to Instagram of her singing.[5] In 2017 she released her first single, "Legend", with just her voice and acoustic guitar. A tribute to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt,[3] the song became a viral Instagram hit, once the athlete reposted it on his own Instagram.[4] Awareness of the violence and social problems she witnessed growing up has influenced her lyrics, and besides Protoje and Chronixx she has cited Super Cat and Giggs among her musical inspirations.[6][7]

Koffee was introduced by Cocoa Tea at the Rebel Salute, a reggae festival, and has also performed with her musical inspirations Protoje and Chronixx.[4]

"Burning", her take on Upsetta Records' Ouji Riddim (which had been made popular by Jamaican artists Busy Signal and Luciano), followed. "Burning" grew out of her desire to inspire herself to push forward despite disappointment at not getting into post-secondary Sixth Form after she graduated from Ardenne High School. In June it spent three weeks at number one on The Foundation Radio Network's Top 30 Reggae Chart covering New York City and South Florida.[8]

In 2018, Jamaican reggae/dancehall singer, songwriter, and deejay Cocoa Tea brought her on stage at the 2018 Rebel Salute and Rototom Sunsplash in Jamaica and Spain respectively. Protoje asked her to perform with him. Chronixx invited her to join him a BBC Radio 1Xtra broadcast from Tuff Gong Studios, and she went on to tour with him in the UK[9] at venues such as Bush Hall and at Alexandra Palace. Koffee and Chronixx appeared on BBC Music Introducing...LIVE on November 10.

Koffee's December 2018 single "Raggamuffin" called out gun violence and governmental neglect of the youth.[10] BBC Radio 1Xtra named Koffee one of its "Hot for 2019" artists.[11] Her next single, "Toast", was produced by (izybeats) and (Walshy Fire) of Major Lazer.[12] Both Chronixx and Protoje appear in the video.[3] In 2019, Tory Lanez made a remix to “Toast” as a part of his International Fargo project which can be found on SoundCloud.

In 2018, she also signed with Columbia Records UK,[8] and Rapture. Her debut EP on the label, was released on March 14,[13][14] 2019.[15] Her "Throne" video, which takes viewers on a tour through her home town of Spanish Town, Jamaica, debuted on The Fader on 22 January 2019.[16] On November 13, 2019, Koffee was announced as an opening act for Harry Styles on select dates of the North American leg of his 2020Love On Tour, and on December 3 as an opening act for the Latin American leg.[17]

On November 26, 2019 Koffee released her first cross-over collaborative single "W", featuring hip-hop artist Gunna.[18]

2020s

Rapture won a Grammy Award at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, making Koffee the youngest person (at 19 years old) and only woman to be awarded in the Best Reggae Album category.[19][20]

Koffee was the musical guest on Nick Cannon's sketch comedy and improv television series Wild 'N Out which aired on February 18, 2020 on VH1.[21]

Discography

Extended plays

Singles
  • "Legend" (2017)
  • "Burning" (2017)
  • "Raggamuffin" (2018)
  • "Toast" (2018) No. 70 UK[22]
  • "Blazin'" (2019)
  • "Throne" (2019)
  • "Rapture" (2019)
  • "Rapture (Remix)" (featuring Govana) (2019)
  • "W" (featuring Gunna) (2019) No. 82 UK[22]
  • "Cyanide (Remix)" by Daniel Caesar (featuring Koffee) (2019)
  • "Repeat" by J Hus (featuring Koffee) (2020) No. 21 UK[23]
  • "Lockdown" (2020)[24]
  • "Pressure" (2020)
gollark: I can imagine worse ones, but (being unironic for a second) it does sound bad.
gollark: Real capitalism has never been tried because we have stuff like a "state" getting in the way of the glorious market.
gollark: Real capitalism has never been tried!
gollark: Communism bad.
gollark: <@341618941317349376> EXPLAINYOURPOINT

References
  1. Cooper, Andre (26 January 2020). "Koffee Wins 2020 Grammy For Best Reggae Album". Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. Giorgis, Hannah (2019-04-02). "The Teenage Girl Leading Jamaica's New Reggae Scene". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  3. Davies, Nicola (14 December 2018). "Our Class of 2019: Koffee". TMRW Magazine. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  4. Giorgis, Hannah (2019-04-02). "The Teenage Girl Leading Jamaica's New Reggae Scene". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  5. Giorgis, Hannah (2019-04-02). "The Teenage Girl Leading Jamaica's New Reggae Scene". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  6. Koffee; Iba Mahr; Busy Signal; Stacey McKenzie (2019-02-02). "Koffee, Iba Mahr, Busy Signal, Stacey McKenzie - Onstage February 2 2019 (FULL SHOW)". OnStage TV (Interview). Interviewed by Winford Williams. Caribbean Entertainment Productions. 35 minutes in. Retrieved 2019-02-08. I would say that to a small extent, in the sense that I didn't- I wasn't able to study his music or grow up on it, but I knew a few Super Cat songs and when I think about my flow and my delivery, I can relate it to him if nobody else.
  7. "Biography: Koffee". Reggaeville.com. Retrieved 2019-02-08. But while reggae is on the agenda at the moment, Koffee intends to take in the many artists who have influenced her over the years, from Protoje and Super Cat to St Louis rapper Smino and UK Rap star Giggs.
  8. Jackson, Kevin (25 October 2018). "Koffee signs to Columbia". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  9. P., Milca (17 October 2018). "Koffee Makes Major Debut With Infectious "Toast" Single". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  10. Zaynab (15 December 2018). "Koffee Spits Fire On "Raggamuffin"". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  11. Faulkner, Dean. "1Xtra Hot For 2019 – Meet the artists ready to take 2019 by storm". BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  12. Horner, Al (10 January 2019). "Koffee". BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  13. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/features/8501354/koffee-interview-rapture-ep-reggae>
  14. Meikle, David (23 March 2019). "Koffee Releases Debut EP "Rapture"". Hype Life Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  15. Renshaw, David (14 January 2019). "Koffee to launch EP on Wednesday". The Jamaica Star. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  16. Renshaw, David (22 January 2019). "Koffee can't be stopped in her "Throne" video". The Fader. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  17. https://vanyaland.com/2019/11/13/harry-styles-taps-jenny-lewis-king-princess-koffee-for-2020-world-tour/
  18. "Koffee Teams Up With Gunna For New Single "W"". DancehallMag.
  19. Campbell, Howard (2019) "'In with fighting chance'", Jamaica Observer, 22 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019
  20. Cooper, Andre (26 January 2020). "Koffee Wins 2020 Grammy For Best Reggae Album". Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  21. McLeod, Sheri-kae (19 February 2020). "Koffee Makes Her Debut On MTV's 'Wild 'N Out'". Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  22. "Koffee | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  23. "J Hus | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  24. "DOWNLOAD Koffee – Lockdown". lokcitymusic.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
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