Cocoa Tea, Beloved and Prolific Reggae Artist, Dies at 65

The Jamaican singer released countless singles in the 1980s and 1990s and regained popularity in 2008 with his political single “Barack Obama”

Colvin Scott, the influential reggae artist who performed as Cocoa Tea, has died. The singer’s wife, Malvia Scott, confirmed the news to Jamaican news outlet The Gleaner, stating that her husband died Tuesday morning (March 11) at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, following cardiac arrest. He was 65 years old.

Cocoa Tea was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2019, and he had recently been dealing with pneumonia, Malvia Scott told The Gleaner. She added, “He was definitely very brave. He was positive throughout it all.”

Colvin George Scott was born in the fishing village of Rocky Point, in Jamaica’s Clarendon Parish. Though he started recording singles as Calvin Scott at age 14, his best known work emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, when he took on the moniker Cocoa Tea (sometimes stylized as Coco Tea). Early hits under his new stage name included “Rocking Dolly” and “I Lost My Sonia.After a prolific output in the 1980s, the following decade found Cocoa Tea reaching wider audiences with songs like 1990’s “Rikers Island,” which was later reworked into a dancehall track by Nardo Ranks called “Me No Like Rikers Island.”

In 1997, Cocoa Tea launched his own record label, Roaring Lion, after releasing dozens of singles for imprints like Greensleeves, Jammy’s, and Mr. Doo. In addition to releasing his own music, Cocoa Tea issued music by Buju Banton, Cutty Ranks, Sizzla, and many others.

In March 2008, Cocoa Tea released one of his most popular songs to-date: “Barack Obama.” The chorus featured simply the now-former President’s name repeated six times, as a musical endorsement of Obama’s candidacy at the time.

In an interview, following the release of “Barack Obama,” Cocoa Tea called the then-senator “exception to all politicians all over the world.” “I am looking for the change that this man has articulated,” Cocoa Tea said. “I want to see a change from global warming. I want to see a change from all these rising food prices.” He added, “Whatever happens in Washington indirectly affects all of us.”