Koffee, fresh off her historic Grammy win, shared with the weekly online HighSnobiety details from her hugely anticipated debut album. Mention is also made of her Coachella-line up this spring and with Harry Styles in fall; stylish collaborations with the likes of Gunna and J Hus and a cosign from Rihanna.

SO shares images of the shoot plus a few memorable quotes.

Once she began attending high school in Kingston, city life broadened her creative horizons. “I started listening to reggae music while in high school, writing my lyrics, playing my guitar,” she says. Kingston’s music scene allowed her to connect with other artistes and gain access to studios for the first time. “The whole Kingston scene added to my perspective of reggae music and helped me to be the artiste I am today,” she muses Koffee credits her musicianship to a combination of influences from both Spanish Town and Kingston: “Half small town, half-city”.

At the end of summer 2017, Koffee shared an original tribute song she penned for Usain Bolt titled Legend, a sweet acoustic recording that succinctly shows Koffee’s budding strength as a songwriter in just two minutes. The song nabbed the attention of Bolt himself — Koffee was ultimately invited to perform it at Bolt’s statue unveiling ceremony at Kingston’s National Stadium — and since then, one thing swiftly led to another. Producers immediately emerged looking to collaborate, which gave way to Koffee’s debut single Burning just weeks later. She followed it up with Raggamuffin, Toast, and, ultimately, the full five-song Rapture EP, which garnered such fans as Barack Obama, Jordan Peele, and Lil Uzi Vert, among others.

The fluidity with which each milestone has led to the next tells Koffee what she needs to know. “When I realised that it [has been] non-stop, I realised that this must be for me,” she says. “No breaks. It just keeps going and growing. So therefore this must be my journey, my purpose.” That deference to natural momentum is validated by the strength of each offering; every song improves upon the range of the last one. She imagines sticky melodies and invigorating flows, raps with as much agility as any MC on the Billboard Hot 100, and her lyrics show the acuity of a writer in touch with her voice.

While some young artistes might celebrate such successes as Koffee’s in more materially lavish ways, her immediate impulse is to give back. Last year, in between stints on the Daniel Caesar tour, she embarked on the first leg of what she dubbed the “Haffi Mek It” tour, on which she performed for students at a number of high schools in Jamaica and Antigua. The idea was helmed by Koffee’s manager, Tammi Chang, who runs the Mentoring and Training Leaders For Tomorrow Programme, which is an extension of her non-profit organisation Families Rule. “I’m happy to be a part of her vision, of something so good. And it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Koffee says of the work Chang does through her programme to educate and empower students interested in the arts.

“I think now is a perfect moment for me to engage with the youth, in schools especially,” she continues. “I feel like it’s important for me to do it while I’m still close in age to them, because they’re relating to me. They’ll listen to me, ’cause they feel like I know what they’re going through”, she says. Koffee and her team plan to bring the tour to the United States and United Kingdom eventually — “We plan to take it worldwide” — but visiting the rest of the Caribbean is their first priority.

Koffee’s engagement with her community and interest in humanitarian work likens her to another Caribbean artist who, incidentally, got her start at the same age Koffee did: Rihanna. Fans have been calling for a collaboration between the two ever since a video circulated of the Bad Gal jamming to Toast during a visit to Jamaica last year, and it was reported soon after that Koffee had been tapped to write for the superstar’s maniacally anticipated ninth album. Koffee explains that, although they have been in touch, she and RiRi haven’t linked up in person just yet. “I’m looking forward to meeting her and being in the studio with her,” Koffee says. Along with feeling connected via their island roots, the singer admires Rihanna for her down-to-earth spirit, creativity, and business acumen: “She’s really a go-getter. I like that she goes for what she wants and she’s successful at it.”

Koffee has her sights set on other collaborators as well. “I’ve been tuning in to the Afrobeat scene for a while now,” she says, mentioning that she would love to work with Burna Boy and Rema. “I’ve met Kendrick Lamar and I hope to work with him in the studio as well,” she adds.

Credits:

Words: Ariel LeBeau

Photography: Drew Escriva

Styling: Karolyn Pho

Producer: Klaudia Podsiadlo

Hair & Makeup: Nadia Braz

Photography Assistant: Ryann Snook

Casting: Kegan Webb