Koffee names fellow dancehall star Alkaline as one of her biggest musical influences.
It is not often that one big artiste admits to being a fan of another, but at 21, reggae entertainer Koffee is still young and honest enough to show admiration to fellow artiste Alkaline, who she credits for having a huge musical impact on her throughout her career. The “Harder They Fall” singer praised him for being one of her favorite lyrical influences, and of course, Alka’s official fan page wasted no time reposting Koffee’s homage, which fans appreciated. They expressed their gratitude to Koffee for showing the Yung Lawd much-deserved respect.
Speaking on the BBC’s ‘1xtra’s Influence’, she touched on the artiste’s versatility and how he is able to mix it up and showcase his different life experiences through his music. None of his songs she noted are the same as he keeps it fresh and keeps fans guessing with a plethora of hits such as “Suave,” “Extra Lesson,” “Conquer the World,” “Beat and Teach,” and “My Side of the Story.”
The Grammy winner also shared that to her and Alkaline feels like family as both artists went to the same school, Ardenne High, and started in the industry close to the same age.
“Going to the same school and see him being older than me and leaving high school and accomplishing a certain level of success. I looked up to him and thought ‘wow I would love that for myself one day’ and then actually processed the thought and felt like maybe it’s possible. Going hard for my thing, dropping my music, keeping my vibe going, keeping my fire burning, and now being able to speak on such a renowned platform about an artiste that I really love and who comes from a similar, close kind of space, is huge. I feel very good so this episode means a lot to me for that reason,” she explained.
‘1xtra Influence’ is a program featured on BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital urban contemporary and black music radio station owned and operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Launched in August 2002, the station broadcasts from the original Broadcast Building in London and is commonly referred to as ‘1 Xtra BBC’. The show itself is geared towards interviewing chart-topping and famous artists to learn about their musical DNA and influences from their own perspectives.
In the audio clips from the show, fans are able to listen to Koffee speak on how massive Alkaline’s influence on her is because he is real, and his music always has a message. “Every time you hear my voice, I cannot avoid the topic of Alkaline’s versatility.”
The song you just heard, “‘Wey We Ago Do,’ is similar to my song “Pressure” in that it speaks about the struggle and what exists beyond the upside of life and just feeling happy all the time or partying and just being an artist. There is struggle that we all go through in life but growing up in a third-world country, I think our journeys’ are unique as Jamaicans and Alkaline is able to tap into that a little bit and show even more vulnerability in a different direction. So you have to appreciate him for that and for highlighting some of our struggles as a people,” she added.
The 60-minute episode, which aired on December 6, 2021, notes Alkaline as being one of Jamaica’s most exciting artists. At the end of the posting on the website, you will find a tracklist of 18 of his songs and the links for you to play the tracks.
The songs include “Conquer The World,” “City,” “Direction,” “One Life,” “My Side Of The Story,” “Formula,” “Suave,” “Extra Lesson,” “Gyalis Pro” (feat. Sean Paul), “Ocean Wave,” “Weh We Ago Do,” “Impact, Mama Pray,” “Nah Fi Like,” “Real Dawgs,” “Champion Boy,” “ATM,” and “Top Prize.”
