Ten years ago, when his début album Where We Come From (Mixpak Records) was released, dancehall artiste Popcaan received rave reviews for the project.

Major publications and media outlets, including Pitchfork, NPR, The Guardian, Fader, and Complex, gave the 13-track set positive ratings.

“I’m very proud of the work I did on WWCF [Where We Come From] and the doors it opened for me and dancehall music in general. From international collaborations to topping charts, to the stages I have been blessed to perform on for my fans, it has truly been a blessing,” Popcaan said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer’s Splash on Thursday.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the release of Where We Come From, Mixpak Records will today (November 15) release a 10-Year Deluxe Edition. The project will feature an acoustic version of the title track, and two previously unreleased tracks, pulled from the vaults.

Dre Skull of Mixpak Records is the executive producer for Where We Come From.

“We’re excited to share two previously unreleased songs, Beat the Struggle and Don’t Finesse Me, as well as an acoustic reimagining of the title song Where We Come From. We’ve also done a brand-new Atmos Spatial audio mix of the full album. We’re excited for fans to re-experience the album and take in these new songs. In the next few weeks we hope to roll out a few extra surprises as well. Stay tuned,” Dre Skull told Splash.

The original Where We Come From album peaked at #21 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, the first of four of his projects to peak at that position on the reggae table.

Popcaan spoke about the work that went into creating the musical magic on Where We Come From.

“Well really it took a lot of hard work and dedication. We had to make sure the direction was authentic and something that would last forever. Dre Skull, Anju Blaxx and the rest of the producers played their part, and we made a classic album,” he said.

Other producers who contributed include Dubbel Dutch, Jamie Roberts, and Adde Instrumentals.

One of the tracks from the album, Too Bad, was sampled in 2016 by Drake in his hit single Too Good, featuring Rihanna. That song has since been certified 5x platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Said Popcaan: “This deluxe version is for my fans — the Unruly family — that have appreciated and supported the album for a decade and counting, this is specially for them. We have two new tracks on the album, from the Where We Come From era that we recorded but never released or included on any project.”

Asked how he has grown musically since the release of Where We Come From, Popcaan shared: “I continue to expand on what I set out to do and be, to stay authentic to where I come from, to my roots, while embracing the journey, always moving forward, always building. More lyrics, more vibes, touching more people, going to more places spreading the God-given talent and inspiring the next generation.”

Dre Skull said the release of the 10th anniversary edition is to celebrate the achievements of the project.

“Artistes only get one début album, and sometimes an artiste really impacts culture with their début, and Popcaan was able to do that. We just wanted to celebrate this important milestone album in Popcaan’s career and in dancehall… At the very beginning of recording the album we were just exploring ideas and recording music and talking about what the album could potentially be. As the songs started to take shape we knew we had a very important body of work. As we got ready for the release, I think we felt the project was destined to make a big impact. We always had our eyes on the full life of the album, not just the week or year it was released, and we’re very grateful to see that it still speaks so strongly to people 10 years later.”

Popcaan described working with Dre Skull as a phenomenal vibe.

“The chemistry with Dre Skull is super unique and out of this world… and it worked out to be that anything Dre Skull and Popcaan touch is magical. We have built that musical chemistry since we did the song Get Gal Easy, and it has just grown into us making bangers after bangers, and we will continue to do so. We have more bangers forwarding,” said the St Thomas-based deejay.

The tracks on Where We Come From – 10 Year Deluxe Edition are: Hold On, Everything Nice, Number One Freak, Love Yuh Bad, The System, Hustle featuring Pusha T, Waiting So Long, Cool it, Ghetto (Tired of Crying), Evil, Addicted, Give Thanks, Where We Come From, Beat the Struggle, Don’t Finesse Me, and Where We Come From (Acoustic Version).