It may not be the kind of single one has come to expect from the soulful Lila Iké, but still the songstress’s latest single is hitting all the right notes.

A modern spin on the 90s dancehall classic Romantic Call, Lila Iké partners with Masicka on the track Romantic to serve up sweet melodies, lyrics, and of course, romance.

Produced by Jamaica’s Dunw3ll and British-Ghanaian hitmaker Juls, the upbeat track channels the authentic dancehall vibe created by Patra on the 1994 crossover hit.

Romantic Call, which peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 during its iconic international run, has been sampled many times over the past two decades. But in an interview with the Jamaica Observer’s Splash Patra heaped praises on Lila Iké as she declared her remake different.

“I felt honoured when Lila Iké reached out to me wanting to sample my song, because she is truly an artiste from this generation that I admire. I first met Lila when she showed up at my jerk centre, and everything about her was just genuine and full of light,” she said. “I love her look, and I especially love her sound. I knew then that she would make an easy crossover artiste. Her vocals are smooth, and you can tell she enjoys what she does.”

Noting that Lila Iké was the consummate professional from the beginning, Patra said after she gave her blessing and the track was recorded. The Where I’m Coming From singer invited her to the studio to be among the first listeners.

“She invited me to hear the song, and I was just as excited as I was when I first recorded Romantic Call. We were at Tuff Gong studios and when she played the record I loved it,” Patra shared. “She then invited me to do something on it, and that’s when we recorded the intro and outro. She really ensured that I was taken care of properly. Professionalism was top tier, and that made me love her even more.”

Outlining that sometimes artistes do not care to go through the proper channels and would rather cut corners and try to squeeze the original artiste in afterwards, Patra said she was grateful for Lila Iké and her team for handling the business aspect of the single so well.

Lila Iké, who released the visuals for Romantic on Wednesday, told Rolling Stone that her decision to sample such a timeless hit came from the need to pay homage to dancehall and the queens who paved the way.

Sharing that “women like Patra, who taught us how to be bold, sensual, and unapologetic”, the Lila Iké said this mirrors her “energy”, and she is looking forward to embracing that even more.

Patra, who has been enjoying extended success based on the recent samples of her hit, says she believes the song is an iconic marker of Jamaican culture that will continue to transcend time.

According to her, Romantic Call achieved the kind of crossover success many dream about.

“Romantic Call will always be very special to me. It wasn’t just the aggression of delivery on the love song that people loved. They loved how they could relate to long-distance love. The melody and beat were even more special,” she said. “But one of the things that made that song so legendary was the fact that Tupac was in the music video. That took things to the next level when he made his appearance. I think people loved seeing a little Jamaican-Caribbean girl rubbing shoulders with international superstars. It was breathtaking to know that I could dominate the charts with dancehall. I crossed boundaries with that song, and so it will always be iconic.”