From Spanish Town to South Florida: See one of reggae’s biggest stars this weekend

The first 10 words on Koffee’s debut EP “Rapture” have defined her career thus far.

“Koffee come in like a rapture,” she sings on the eponymous opening track, a triumphant declaration of her arrival, “and everybody get captured.”

In the four years since, Koffee has quite possibly become reggae’s biggest star. “Rapture” earned the 2019 Grammy for Best Reggae Album, making the then-19-year-old the youngest and only woman to win the award. She has since worked with reggae legends like Buju Banton but also hip-hop greats like Kendrick Lamar and Jay Z, the latter of whom she says is the only person to write her a song. Now 23 and fresh off her second Grammy nomination for her March 2022 debut album “Gifted,” the Jamaican-born artist still remains as humble as ever.

“I don’t know if I see it as fame: I just see it as influence,” Koffee told the Miami Herald ahead of headlining at Miramar’s Afro-Carib Festival. Such a gig is rather fitting considering she embodies the globalization of Black music. “I really admire and appreciate the ability to take my music across borders because it’s reggae music.”

Born Mikayla Simpson in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Koffee’s musical journey began at an early age. A Seventh-day Adventist, she fell in love with the choir and later joined. Koffee began teaching herself guitar by age 12 and, inspired by Protoge, soon started to craft lyrics. Over time, her sound began to evolve further from traditional reggae yet the penchant for injecting sociopolitical themes into her music — one of the hallmarks of the genre — remained.

“I’ve always been a very perceptive person,” she said. “Realizing what’s happening in the country and how it affects people, I wanted to speak on behalf of the people.”

On “Defend,” the Lamar-produced, choppy beat with a slow tempo, she does just that, shining light on the police brutality and violence that plagues her hometown in under one minute. The track also highlights Koffee’s talents as a singjay, a combination of singing and rapping in patois. Such a skill was honed watching Protoge but also the major players as hip-hop became a dominant genre around the world.

“I fell in love with melodic rap so some of the prominent artists nowadays, like Gunna, he’s somebody that has inspired me,” she said. The two collaborated on 2019’s “W,” which features Koffee spitting “A no news, me ina me prime, a no crime/ Where di dolla sign? Money pon me mind/ So me nah no time fi spend” with laser-like patois precision.

That’s not to say Koffee has abandoned the genre entirely. Her respect for traditional reggae yet willingness to push the genre to new heights has endeared Koffee to generations of fans, both young and old. Songs like “Lonely” pay homage to the drum-and-bass foundation of reggae while “Toast,” a bouncy blend of both dancehall and Afrobeats, has become a staple at parties from Miami to Manchester, where waists whine and drinks clink to “buss a toast fi di friends weh tek off heavy load.” Rather than hide her Afrobeats affinity, Koffee embraces it.

“The Afrobeats sound has been growing over the years, especially in recent times,” she said. “And I think that since we’re both inspired by each other, it’s good to show that collaboration in that sense, not necessarily a collaboration between me and another artist but just sonically.”

“Gifted” showcased Koffee’s versatility — both sonically and thematically. Throughout the album, she often goes from revelry to revolution at a moment’s notice. “Shine” finds Koffee calling out her hometown’s gun violence over a simple acoustic guitar pattern while “West Indies” evokes images of a late-night function somewhere in the Caribbean. That the album was put together amid the global pandemic, including “Lockdown,” a period piece in its own right as Koffee wonders “Where will we go?/ When di quarantine ting done and everybody touch road?” on the chorus, was a sign of her connection with her audience.

“I feel like as a creative, you understand that there’s, there are fluctuations in both your feelings for releasing and also the public’s reception,” she said. “ ‘Lockdown’ came pretty naturally to me, between myself and the producer. It just happened really, really naturally. And I’m happy I was able to put that out to the world.”

When it comes to new music, Koffee remains coy. Maybe don’t hold your breath waiting for her rumored remix of Burna Boy’s “Ye,” however, she does confirm something will be released this year. Only time will tell what the offering will be.

“I ain’t gonna tell you yet,” she said, a sly smile breaking across her face. “I’m not giving anything away.”

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Afro-Carib Festival

WHERE: Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater, 16801 Miramar Pkwy., Miramar

WHEN: 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25

TICKETS: From $20-$125. For more information, go to https://www.afrocaribfestmiramar.com/tickets/