Cocoa Tea Biography
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 Calvin George Scott, 3 September 1959, Rocky Point, Clarendon, Jamaica, West Indies. Cocoa Tea began his career while still a child in Kingston in 1974, singing on a couple of obscure records for an equally obscure producer, Willie Francis; ‘Searching In The Hills’ was issued under the name of Calvin Scott. He vanished again until 1983, when, sporting dreadlocks and his new nickname (also spelled Coco Tea), he began to carve a niche in dancehall reggae with producer Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, hitting with ‘Rocking Dolly’, and ‘I Lost My Sonia’. Unlike other dancehall singers, he did not find it necessary to attempt to dominate a song with energy, instead preferring a subtler, more melodic approach. His 1984 album debut, Weh Dem A Go Do... Can’t Stop Coco Tea, suggested a great future, which proved to be correct as the late 80s albums Sweet Sweet Coco Tea, Cocoa Tea, The Marshall, and Come Again, established him further.
A collaboration with producer Gussie Clarke led to the formation of a group alongside the trio Home T and Shabba Ranks. Their Holding On and the single ‘Pirate’s Anthem’ were huge Jamaican hits in 1989. As a solo artist, Riker’s Island (1991) established that Cocoa Tea had more to say than most. The ‘No Blood For Oil’ single was a lucid comment on the Gulf War, and was also to be found on the same year’s Another One For The Road, recorded with Home T after Cutty Ranks had replaced Shabba in the group. During the mid-90s Cocoa Tea recorded for a number of different producers, including Cutty Ranks, Digital B, and Philip ‘Fatis’ Burrell. In 1997 he successfully revived the King Sporty hit, ‘I’m Not A King’. The following year he established the Roaring Lion label and released his first major label album, Holy Mount Zion (on Motown Records). By the 00s Cocoa Tea was firmly established as one of Jamaica’s finest voices, continuing to record for a broad range of the island’s producers and labels. The only thing currently preventing him from becoming a major musical star is his apparent reluctance to travel.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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Calvin George Scott, 3 September 1959, Rocky Point, Clarendon, Jamaica, West Indies. Cocoa Tea began his career while still a child in Kingston in 1974, singing on a couple of obscure records for an equally obscure producer, Willie Francis; ‘Searching In The Hills’ was issued under the name of Calvin Scott. He vanished again until 1983, when, sporting dreadlocks and his new nickname (also spelled Coco Tea), he began to carve a niche in dancehall reggae with producer Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes, hitting with ‘Rocking Dolly’, and ‘I Lost My Sonia’. Unlike other dancehall singers, he did not find it necessary to attempt to dominate a song with energy, instead preferring a subtler, more melodic approach. His 1984 album debut, Weh Dem A Go Do... Can’t Stop Coco Tea, suggested a great future, which proved to be correct as the late 80s albums Sweet Sweet Coco Tea, Cocoa Tea, The Marshall, and Come Again, established him further.