Cocoa Tea

He began making a wider name for himself in the mid-1980s after linking with producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes. Songs like “Rocking Dolly” and “I Lost My Sonia” established him as a major new voice, and the 1985 album Weh Dem A Go Do… Can’t Stop Cocoa Tea captured that early surge. He went on to cut key sides for King Jammy and other heavyweight producers, including “Tune In,” “Settle Down,” and the widely loved “Young Lover,” while collaborations such as Holding On with Home T and Shabba Ranks showed how well his style could sit beside other dancehall voices without losing its gentler character.

Cocoa Tea’s biggest records carried a message as well as a melody. “Rikers Island” became one of his signature songs, using a prison theme to speak to young listeners, and it helped broaden his reach well beyond Jamaica. Through the 1990s he kept releasing strong material, including “Good Life” and “Israel King,” while his versions of familiar songs and his ease with lovers rock, roots, and dancehall kept him in demand across labels and continents. His catalogue also included albums such as The Marshall and Come Again, and his name stayed active in reggae collections and riddim culture for decades.

He later formed Roaring Lion Records and continued recording and performing into the 2000s and beyond, remaining a respected elder with a catalogue that never depended on one era alone. Even in later years, songs like “Barack Obama” and ongoing appearances on compilations and sound-system projects showed how naturally his voice fit both classic and contemporary reggae settings. Cocoa Tea died in 2025, but his music remains tied to the sound of modern Jamaican reggae at its most melodic, thoughtful, and enduring.