Koffee

Original Koffee

Born Mikayla Simpson, blossoming singer-songwriter Koffee’s mission is to preserve Jamaica’s roots and culture in music, while also aiming to empower the youth of her generation through her musical journey across the world. “I want to make a better world for the generation that’s coming up, to promote love and peace, and even though I’m young, I feel that the Creator has blessed me with talent and wisdom to get the job done”. – Koffee.

Koffee’s humble beginning in music started from her childhood experience of participating in the junior choir at church, followed by her high school’s choir. In 2012, after being gifted a guitar by a friend who saw her interest in music and recognized her talent, Koffee immersed herself in developing her craft by daily carrying her guitar to school, and taking every free moment to sing and play. It is in 2016 after winning a highly competitive talent competition held at her school, that Koffee accepted that she could no longer avoid her calling. Like many rising stars of her generation, the young Jamaican musician used the power of social media for her introduction, and warmed the hearts of people across the world with her song ‘Legend’, in tribute to Usain Bolt.

The 17 years old budding star has since dedicated her time to writing, recording and further cultivating her musical abilities in preparation for her symphonious journey.

Burning

From her Viral Usain Bolt Video, Reggae’s Next Generation, Singer-Songwriter Koffee is Burning! Recently taking social media by storm with her acoustic tribute to Usain Bolt, 17 years old Mikayla “Koffee” Simpson haunting and mesmerizing rich soulful voice has captured the attention of reggae music lovers worldwide.

Under the guidance of her manager Caniggia Palmer, Koffee recently released her official debut single and video ‘Burning’. The reggae production on famed Upsetta Records “Ouji Riddim” also features such reggae stars as Grammy award singer Mykal Rose, billboard charting Busy Signal among others. Koffee the lone female on the riddim, stands out with her infectious delivery and prolific lyrics.

On a riddim filled with male established artists, Upsetta Records Thomas Dubee explained why they took a chance on the young budding star who had yet recorded professionally. “Between the soulful depth of Koffee’s voice and her natural & humble vibes, you would never know Koffee was 17. Age was never a question or hesitation for us. We also never perceived working with Koffee as chance. The first time I heard Koffee’s voice, I did not make it through the entire song one time before emailing her camp for a chance to collaborate. We’re always keeping our ears out for new talent and I immediately knew producing any song by Koffee would result in greatness. Burning is a strong indication that intuition was accurate.”

On the same day of the song and riddims release, Koffee also released Burning’s visual garnering over 16 thousand views within 4 days of it’s premiere on Reggaeville. Impressive numbers for any artists, but even more remarkable for a new artist’s first. Tajuan Simmonds “the ting up..female Chronixx”, Dread Litoko L Dread “Oh Gosh, wat a voice full of energy and emotion!” Kuno36 “She’s gonna be a legend mi can feel it” are some of the numerous comments and feedback left by her daily growing fan base.

“After releasing her first ever instagram performance in which she did a tribute to Usain Bolt and it went Viral, I expected Koffee’s writing skills to gradually improve over the months/years, but when I heard “Burning”, again I was in TOTAL shock as to such an amazing song she wrote. The melody is beautiful, the flow is impeccable and of course the ‘Riddim’ is also really great, so I have to big up Team Upsetta for reaching out and allowing Koffee to be apart of the “Ouji Riddim”. I also think that the visuals for the song is also amazing and I have to big up the director “Ifidel Williams” and the person behind the camera “Roe Summerz” along with all the other talents in the video; Samuel Bailey the body builder, Vanderleer Palmer the track athlete, Mark Lindsay the dancer and Kemoi Bryan the Kung Fu Master. These people weren’t acting, it’s who they want to become and that’s apart of the reason why this song and video is so powerful to me. Lastly I would like to thank Life Fit Training Centre for allowing us to use their facility in achieving some of the visuals.” stated her manager Caniggia Palmer.

Humbled by the response, Koffee is clear of her responsibility to a culture she loves and respects and is on a clear mission to preserve Jamaica’s roots and culture in music, while also aiming to empower the youth of her generation through her musical journey across the world.