Cocoa Tea

Calvin Scott, known professionally as Cocoa Tea, is a Jamaican reggae and dance performer known for his relaxed style on a series of albums and singles since 1974. He has toured the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Japan since 1984 and songs such as 'Rikers Island', 'Young Lover', 'Lost My Sonia', 'Tune In' and 'Rocking Dolly' have become trademark reggae anthems.

He sang in church and school choirs as a boy and made his first record, 'Searching in the Hills', in 1974 when he was just 14 but its lack of success dimmed his interest in a music career. It revived five years later when he wrote more songs and started to perform in local dance halls. In 1983 in Kingston, he joined with Henry 'Junjo' Lawes and recorded 'Who's the Champion' and 'Rocking Dolly'.

He became Rastafarian in 1985 and included his faith in subsequent releases such as 'Too Much Fussing and Fighting' and 'Highest Mountain'. His first album, 'Weh Dem a Go Do. Can't Stop Coco Tea', came out in 1985 followed by 'The Marshall' (1986) and 'Come Again' (1987). His 1989 release 'Holding On' featured Shabba Ranks and Home T with King Jammy and Gussie Clarke.

Albums since then have included 'Riker's Island' (1991), which included songs in protest of the Gulf War, 'One Way' (1998) and 'Feel the Power' (2001). His most recent were 'In a di Red' (2012) and 'Sunset in Negril' (2014). Cocoa Tea appeared at the Heroes in Action stage show in Jamaica in 2017 and he has announced a 50-city tour in 2018. A single, 'Fyah', backed by a Spanish-language version titled 'Fuego' with Ines Pardo, came out later in 2017 ahead of a promised new album due in 2018.