Cocoa Tea Explained

Cocoa Tea
Birth Name:	Colvin George Scott
Birth Date:	1959 9, df=y
Birth Place:	Rocky Point, Clarendon, Jamaica
Origin:	Hayes, Clarendon, Jamaica
Instrument:	Vocals
Genre:	Reggae, Roots Reggae
Label:	VP Records, Greensleeves, Volcano, Cornerstone, Roaring Lion

Colvin George Scott (born 3 September 1959), better known as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.^[1]

Biography

Born in Rocky Point, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica,^[2] Cocoa Tea was popular in Jamaica from 1985, but has become successful worldwide since the 1990s. One of his most famous songs is "Rikers Island",^[2] which was later turned into a dancehall version by Nardo Ranks titled “Me No Like Rikers Island" (featured on the 1991 Columbia/SME Records compilation Dancehall Reggaespañol) 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 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 and "Answer Mi Question" by Dillinger.

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.^[3]

After recording for many of the top reggae labels including VP Records, Greensleeves Records and Ras Records, 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^[4]
• Rocking Dolly (1991), RAS
• Authorized (1991), Greensleeves^[5]
• Kingston Hot (1992), RAS
• I Am the Toughest (1992), VP ^[6]
• Weh Dem A Go Do - Can't Stop Cocoa Tea (1992), VP ^[7]
• One Up (1993), Greensleeves ^[8]
• Good Life (1994), VP ^[9]
• Sweet Love (1994), VP
• Tune In (1994), Greensleeves ^[10]
• Can't Live So (1994), Shanachie
• Come Love Me (1995), VP ^[11]
• Israel's King (1996), VP ^[12]
• Holy Mount Zion (1997), Motown
• One Way (1998), VP ^[13]
• Unforgettable (2000), Roaring Lion
• Feel the Power (2001), VP ^[14]
• Tek Weh Yuh Gal (2004), Kings of Kings
• Save Us Oh Jah (2006), VP ^[15]
• 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
• Clash (1985), Hawkeye - Tenor Saw & Cocoa Tea
• Showdown Vol 8 (1986), Hitbound - Frankie Paul & Cocoa Tea
• Another One for the Road (1991), Greensleeves - Home T, Cocoa Tea, and Cutty Ranks^[16]
• Holding On (1991), VP - Cocoa Tea, Shabba Ranks, and Home T, a.k.a. Pirate's Anthem ^[17]
• Sanchez Meets Cocoa Tea (1993), Jet Star - with Sanchez
• Legit (1993), Shananchie - Cocoa Tea, Freddie McGregor, and Dennis Brown
• Israel Vibration Meets Cocoa Tea (1999), Cactus
• Another One For The Road (Greensleeves 30th Anniversary Edition) (2007), Greensleeves - Home T, Cocoa Tea, and Cutty Ranks^[18]

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 ^[19]
• Reggae Legends (2009), 17 North Parade ^[20]
• The Best of Cocoa Tea (2012), Jammy's
• Music is Our Business (2019), VP ^[21]

In popular culture

His song "We Do The Killing" was sampled in the Pendulum song "Set Me On Fire", which is included on their album Immersion.

External links

• Cocoa Tea, Biography of Cocoa Tea
• Cocoa Tea, Artists Only! Records

Notes and References

1. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p29887/biography|pure_url=yes}} Biography: Cocoa Tea]. Huey. Steve. AllMusic. 14 May 2010.
2. Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 2003. Third. 1-85227-969-9. 119.
3. Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2014) "Cocoa Tea Looks to Sunset in Negril", Jamaica Observer, 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014
4. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Rikers Island. Allmusic.
5. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Authorized. Allmusic.
6. Web site: Cocoa Tea - I Am the Toughest. Allmusic.
7. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Weh Dem A Go Do - Can't Stop Cocoa Tea. 21 November 1992 . Discogs.
8. Web site: Cocoa Tea - One Up. Allmusic.
9. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Good Life. Allmusic.
10. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Tune In. 21 November 1994 . Discogs.
11. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Come Love Me. 21 November 1995 . Discogs.
12. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Israel's King. 21 November 1996 . Discogs.
13. Web site: Cocoa Tea - One Way. Allmusic.
14. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Feel the Power. Allmusic.
15. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Save Us Oh Jah. 21 November 2023 . Discogs.
16. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Another One for the Road. 21 November 1991 . Discogs.
17. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Holding On. 8 September 2019 . Discogs.
18. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Another One For The Road (Greensleeves 30th Anniversary Edition). 21 November 2023 . Discogs.
19. Web site: Cocoa Tea - The Sweet Sound Of Cocoa Tea. 21 November 2023 . Discogs.
20. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Reggae Legends. 21 November 2023 . Discogs.
21. Web site: Cocoa Tea - Music Is Our Business. Allmusic.