Astrologers will have their own summations of what July symbolises but for music lovers, July proved to be the saving grace Jamaican music needed since “Miss Rona”.
With COVID-19 disrupting the usual flow of the entertainment industry, several selectors and producers questioned if the annual ritual of crowning a summer song would be feasible. Just when we thought it wouldn’t get any better than Dexta Daps’ Breaking News, Govana’s HAMANTS Convo Pt 2 or Skillibeng’s Mr Universe, July pulled up to the lot and gave us more than we bargained for.
The heavy-hitters were definitely Koffee, Jada Kingdom and Chronixx. What started out as producer Dane Ray and Koffee just vibing at Popcaan’s studio, turned into Koffee’s first love song, and an anthem for several people questioning how life will be after the indefinite corona-induced quarantine. During a recent interview with Vibe Magazine, Koffee admitted, “We never think it woulda reach this fast…this is so crazy right now.”
The track and accompanying countryside visuals soared to the top trending spot on YouTube in the region, where it stayed for several days until Jada Kingdom’s Win picked up steam.
Like Koffee, Kingdom revealed she too was surprised at the overwhelming support of the song, and said the motivational track is also a symbol of her ‘East side’ pride.
“Mi find di right set a confidence fi really represent fi where mi come from di right set a way, which a outta East side, 7 Miles, Bull Bay, mi born and grow,” she said in a recent online chat with Protoje. “People from round the area never did too believe inna mi ting…mi grow a mentality fi mek dem gwaan but really a unity mi shoulda a push from long time cause no money nuh really deh inna di beef sh*t…. so when mi seh win mi nah stop try til mi win cause mi haffi win.”
Helping to navigate these amazingly sappy feelings is Chronixx, whose Cool As the Breeze/Friday joint makes anyone want to grab a pair of sunnies and head to the beach or cruise the coast before curfew beckons.
Also filling our playlists with some normalcy of summer (besides the unsparing heat) are early July releases like Aidonia’s Look, Govana’s Likkle Bit A Money, Masicka’s Just A Minute, Protoje’s Same So and Kingdom on Skillibeng’s Shake remix.
Closing off the month was the musical mastery of Sevana’s Be Somebody EP (which includes Mango and If You Only Knew) and Tarrus Riley’s The Fresh Prince of JA, a funky yard spin on Will Smith’s 90s sitcom theme song.
