Among the viewers of BoltвЂ™s Instagram repost, for example, were representatives of the Jamaica-based label Upsetta Records, who asked Koffee to join reggae veterans such as Busy Signal and Jah Vinci in singing on Ouji Riddim, a collaborative record on which each singer recorded their vocals over the same production, or вЂњriddim.вЂќ Her contribution, the October 2017 hit вЂњBurning,вЂќ showcased a young artist whose vocal dexterity could handle flows beyond the stripped-down acoustics of вЂњLegend.вЂќДЄt turns solemn and celebratory, вЂњBurningвЂќ keenly reflects KoffeeвЂ™s interest in producing music that speaks to the concerns and triumphs of Jamaicans. The Bolt tribute, and the resulting onslaught of attention, came a few months later. вЂњAnd it basically gave me my first confidence in being able to perform and deliver music live.вЂќ вЂњIt was a huge moment for me,вЂќ she said of the competition. Though sheвЂ™d never planned to pursue music full-time, the 17-year-old competed against a beatboxer and a few fellow singjays, and rocked a crowd that she estimated must have been nearly 1,000 people. вЂњAnd I just started playing around with lyrics, writing a few lines and trying to rhyme some words and getting bigger and bigger each time-so bigger words, more syllables, or longer rhyme schemes.вЂќДuring her final year at Ardenne High School in Kingston, Koffee auditioned for a talent show orchestrated by her music teacher. вЂњI was listening to Protoje and Chronixx and dem flows and lyrics were very fascinating, and I was like, you know, feel like mi wan try this a little,вЂќ she recalled with a laugh. At 14, she made her first attempts to write within the genre. Koffee taught herself to play guitar at age 12, after a friend let her borrow a spare, and began listening to modern reggae soon after. The musicians on rotation represented a diasporic melange-American R&B and soul singers such as Aretha Franklin and Etta James, as well as classic reggae artists including the Jamaican greats Beres Hammond, Dennis Brown, and, of course, Bob Marley. Raised in the Eltham View neighborhood of Spanish Town, about an hour outside Kingston, Koffee drew her first musical influences from the artists her Seventh-Day Adventist mother played in their home on Sundays. вЂњTheyвЂ™re the foundation for the music that you are here experiencing and listening to now, to know that you can вЂ¦ reach out to them and have them give you advice and just guide you along your journey, itвЂ™s a very comforting feeling.вЂќ вЂњBeing a young artist, you know that youвЂ™re not the first and there are a lot of people who have been there before you to basically look up to-people who have been setting examples forever,вЂќ she said. When we spoke in KingstonвЂ™s Mountain View clearing late last month, a day before the release of her Rapture EP, Koffee marveled at the support sheвЂ™s received from industry legends. Now 19, the DJ and singer-songwriter-or вЂњsingjay,вЂќ in island parlance-has already performed alongside contemporary icons such as Chronixx and Protoje. At the January 2018 edition of the annual reggae festival Rebel Salute, the veteran artist Cocoa Tea introduced Koffee to a massive audience one month before her 18th birthday. In the year and a half since recording that first video, Simpson, who sings under the stage name Koffee (sometimes Original Koffee), has been wholeheartedly embraced by some of JamaicaвЂ™s most famous musicians-and by their fan bases. Soon after, Bolt saw the video and reposted it to his own account, where it has since been viewed nearly 300,000 times by his several million followers. вЂњIf the times get slower and yuh start get old, mi still remember yuh story.вЂќ вЂњYuh nuh need no medal with a heart of gold, yuh stay humble inna yuh glory,вЂќ she sang about the Olympic champion. In the short clip, she strummed her acoustic guitar and performed вЂњ Legend,вЂќ a record sheвЂ™d written as a tribute to the countryвЂ™s famed track star Usain Bolt. KINGSTON-Toward the end of August 2017, a 17-year-old Jamaican musician named Mikayla Simpson uploaded a video of herself singing to her Instagram account.

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