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Born Colvin Scott in 1959, Cocoa Tea grew up in the rural fishing village of Rocky Point. Raised by a single mother, it was during his years as a student at Bustamante Junior Secondary School that he became a member of the singing group the Rockydonians. As a member of the group, he would link up with Willie Francis, and at just 14 years old, would record his first solo track, Searching In The Hills. When the song failed to pick up traction, Cocoa Tea, largely because of his stature, was persuaded to become a jockey. In time, he did just that by becoming a trained jockey at the Caymanas Park racetrack. Still, he knew music was his calling, and he would make frequent trips to Kingston to further his music career. But without a recording deal, he found it very difficult financially, so he took odd jobs. As he told The Gleaner in a December 3, 1998, article:
“I went back home to Rocky Point where I did some mason work [and] cut brushes before becoming a full-time fisherman.”
Still, despite these early jobs, Cocoa Tea would form relationships with sound systems such as Prince Unitone, Turbo Panic, and Volcano. These relationships would bear fruit, as in 1983 his luck would change. As he recalled in a February 17, 2019, Gleaner article:
“Volcano was playing, and the people said, ‘Give Cocoa Tea the mic cause him can sing’... Reluctantly, they gave me the mic and I started singing. There were people like King Yellowman and they all told me to go to producer Henry ‘Jungo’ Lawes in town. I went and started recording, and I’ve been in the business ever since.”
After five years as a jockey and a fisherman, Cocoa Tea’s meeting with Junjo was the launch pad of his career. Soon after, he would have one of his earliest hits with Rocking Dolly. A string of other hits followed suit including I Lost My Sonia, Can’t Stop Cocoa Tea, and Informer. By 1984, he released his debut album, Weh Dem a Go Do ... Can’t Stop Cocoa Tea. Then in 1985, he embraced Rastafari and would start to voice for legendary producer, King Jammy. On Rastafari, Cocoa Tea told Reggae Vibes in a May 5, 2019, interview:
“I discovered Rastafari from about 1980. I’ve always been around Rasta people, but I used to go to church. But when I used to go to church, the thing that draw me to Rastafari – the difference is when I go to church and some people [said], ‘Let us go to the Nyabinghi’. And so we go to the Nyabinghi. There is a thing in the church called Harvest, where everybody brings something to the church. And they would take those things and they would sell it to other people. They said they were selling it to support the church. [But] [w]hen I go to the Nyabinghi, everybody bring things and just share it with everybody. Nothing was sold. So I said this is the livity I like.”
Under the guidance of King Jammy and Gussie Clarke, 1989 saw Cocoa Tea forming a group with Shabba Ranks and Home T. They would release the album, Holding On. The album produced hits such as Pirates Anthem and Who She Love. Other collaborative albums followed in the ‘90s. There was the 1992 Another One For The Road with Home T and Cutty Ranks. A year later, Legit was released, this time in collaboration with Dennis Brown and Freddie McGregor. The ‘90s also saw Cocoa Tea release several solo albums including Rikers Island, Authorized, I Am The Toughest, Good Life, One Up, Can’t Live So, and One Way.
However, even though he emerged as one of the island’s most prolific artistes at this time, he never forgot his horse racing roots. The decade would see him owning several horses, including the two of his most promising horses back then, Valley of Kings and Shocking Rally Scott. By 1995, he had his own label – Roaring Lion Label. In a February 28, 1999, Gleaner article, he explained the mission of the label, which had its recording studio located in Clarendon:
“The industry is made up of a lot of rural artistes, and this is a way for them to avoid going to town to fight the traffic, and to be bothered by people who just hang around the studios doing nothing. This studio is not too near, and not too far, right here on the South Coast, just 80 minutes outside of Kingston, and you don’t have to worry about harassment here. There is just a wicked, creative vibe here plus state-of-the-art equipment.”
A string of live performances would follow in the new millennium. Then in 2008, he would have one of his biggest global hits with Barack Obama. The song was written by Cocoa Tea in late January 2008 and soon got heavy international airplay. Weeks after the US elected its first black president, Cocoa Tea, in a December 14, 2008, Gleaner article stated:
“Why me is so interested is that it affects I and I. I was in touch with the primaries from it start. The only message that speak to I was from Obama ... according to the prophecy, it was the right time for a black man to come to power in the United States of America ... A lot of people, when this tune started playing, they did not really know who Barack Obama is. I open the ears of the people.”
Still, by 2014, Cocoa Tea expressed his disappointment in the US president for not ending the multiple military conflicts his country was involved in.
Over the last few years, Cocoa Tea continued to have dual roles as a recording artiste and a horse owner. Then breeding his horses under the name Fisherman Stables, he won his first classic in April 2018 when Disability Charm, ridden by Robert Halledeen and trained by Patrick ‘Wacky’ Lynch, took home the 44th running of the 1000 Guineas. The horse also took the Thornbird Stakes. A year later, Cocoa Tea expanded his business portfolio, this time with his clothing line, CocoRobics Apparel Line. Mostly athletic gear, Cocoa Tea told The Gleaner about this venture in a February 8, 2019, interview:
“I would use exercise to work out as a kind of energy segment while on tour. At that time, we were calling it Reggae Robics, and it was done to vibes up the crowd. Everybody loved it, and soon, we were approached about merchandise. We tried to register the name Reggae Robics, but that was unavailable, so we came up with the name CocoRobics, and it worked.”
Alongside these major achievements, Cocoa Tea would continue to be a headlining act on many local and international shows. One of his most lauded live performances was in 2011 at Reggae Sumfest, where although not billed to hit the stage, he performed for an absent R Kelly. R Kelly was scheduled to perform on Friday, July 22, 2011, International Night 1, but pulled out of the event on Wednesday, July 20, after having emergency throat surgery. As The Gleaner reported on July 24, 2011:
“In the midst of what must be, unreservedly, one of the best performances of the festival, an assured Cocoa Tea used the opportunity to remind the organisers of the power of Jamaica’s music and the living legends who are still able to capture and pull a large following who appreciates their music.”
Cocoa Tea even used his influence to help launch young and upcoming artistes. In fact, he introduced the world to then-teenage musical protégé Koffee during his 2018 set at Rebel Salute. Having met her during a recording session with Walshy Fire in December 2017, Cocoa Tea said the following during his introduction of her on the Salute stage:
“Dis likkle 17 year ol’ from Spanish Town. Female. An’ me a tell you, is di next Jamaican female sensation.”
Almost a year and a half later in 2020, Cocoa Tea’s prediction would prove true when she became the first woman to take home the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album, making her the first solo woman to win the award since its existence in 1985. Her achievement would move beyond gender lines as she is also the youngest musician to win in the category.
Still, it is these relationships with other musicians and an almost 50-year contribution to Jamaica music that made Cocoa Tea’s recent passing spread a wave of sadness across the musical and sporting fraternity. Ailing for some time after being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2019, the 65-year-old musician passed on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in a Florida hospital after suffering cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife, Malvia, and eight children.
In a tribute to him, Koffee wrote on her Instagram page, “RIP to a Legend”. Without a doubt, the whole of Jamaica agrees.
J.T. Davy is a member of Tenement Yaad Media, where she writes and co-produces their popular historical podcast, ‘Lest We Forget’. Send feedback to jordpilot@hotmail.com and entertainment@gleanerjm.com.
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