Of the countless artistes Mikey Bennett worked with, he regarded Cocoa Tea among the most spontaneous. He said the singer, who died yesterday from cancer at age 65 in Florida, had a knack for making hit songs from nothing.

In the late 1980s they were members of producers Lloyd “King Jammy” James and Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon’s Waterhouse camp. Bennett was an artiste, producer and songwriter.

“First thing, Cocoa Tea loved soul music. He loved the classic melodies and had a style that you learned on sound systems. He knew how to move a crowd and he translated that in the studio,” Bennett told the Jamaica Observer.

He pointed to Who She Love, a song by Home T, Shabba Ranks, and Cocoa Tea, as a classic example of the diminutive artiste’s creativity. It was meant to be a song for Home T, Bennett’s group, but when Cocoa Tea heard the draft, he stepped in and changed its structure.

“Him say, ‘Yuh haffi put a likkle supn inna it.’ And when he started to sing. I looked at Bobby and said: ‘That’s it!’ He took the first verse, Diego (Home T’s lead singer) took the second, and Shabba added his part,” Bennett recalled. “Dat was the greatness of Cocoa Tea.”

Born Calvin Scott in Rocky Point, Clarendon, Cocoa Tea got into music full-time in the late 1970s after failing to become a jockey at Caymanas Park.

He became part of producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes’ Volcano label and sound system, scoring his first hit song in 1984 with
Rocking Dolly.

At the time, Barrington Levy was the main singer for Volcano. He said it was Lawes who first introduced him to the budding singer.

“Junjo come to mi an’ say, ‘Mi have a yute who soun’ jus’ like you, an’ him come from Clarendon jus’ like you,’ ” Levy recalled. He told the Observer that he and Cocoa Tea were close friends for over 40 years.

“All I can said ‘bout Cocoa Tea is: ‘Him is a good soul. If him have supn fi say, him a guh sey it to yuh face, not behind yuh back,’ ” shared Levy.

During the 1980s and 1990s Cocoa Tea had a number of hit songs, among them Kingston Hot, Lost My Sonia, Young Lover, Lonesome Side, and Holy Mount Zion. In addition to Who She Love, he made the charts with Home T and Shabba Ranks with the defiant
Pirate’s Anthem.

Holy Mount Zion was also the name of his only album for Motown Records, released in 1997.

British singer Joss Stone sampled Young Lover for Harry’s Symphony, a song from her 2015 album Water For Your Soul.

In 2008, Cocoa Tea released the song Barack Obama, as homage to the United States senator from Illinois who was elected that country’s first black president in November that year.

Minister of Entertainment and Culture Olivia “Babsy” Grange, while expressing sadness at his passing, described him as a prolific writer and an excellent performer, adding that, “We have lost a great Jamaican artiste…[and] we will continue to honour and treasure what [he’s] left with us.”

Dr Deborah Hickling Gordon, PNP spokesperson for culture and creative industries, reflecting on his work, said: “Cocoa Tea was a cultural ambassador whose music carried the heartbeat of Jamaica to the world. His songs were more than melodies; they were messages of unity, resilience, and faith…. His voice and message will live on through his timeless music.”

The artiste is survived by his widow Malvia, eight children, six grandchildren, and many brothers and sisters.