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Cocoa Tea

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November 2007 Rap Hip Hop Electronica

Written by Joe Hartlaub

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9.0

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Artist: Cocoa Tea
Title: Biological Warfare
Label: Minor7Flat5

Cocoa Tea has been around forever, it seems. A native of Rocky Point, Jamaica, Calvin Scott changed his name to Cocoa Tea in 1983, moved to Kingston, began performing and released his first CD in 1985. Initially one of the most popular proponents of Dance Hall reggae, Cocoa Tea’s SOUND has gradually moved closer to a lover’s rock sound, even as his topical compositions have focused more and more on political issues as the years have passed.

Biological Warfare is probably Tea’s strongest release in the past few years, from an artistic standpoint, a nearly flawless release that may be a bit too smooth for purists. Tea’s politics might be a bit tiresome for some given their somewhat simplistic A to B conclusions, but given that the guy usually has between two to three minutes per song to get his point across and keep us all entertained, it’s understandable. Certainly his work in general, and Biological Warfare, is more palatable than the verbal diarrhea that Rage Against The Machine comes out with. Tea’s delivery is for the most part laid-back, and the arrangements of each track never get in the way of the man or his message. The jewel box for Biological Warfare is replete with various pictures of Tea enjoying the mother herb, and the mellowness generated by such activity manifests itself, though his lyrics and song titles (Rise Up, Stop Tell Lie, Blood and Fyah) are not exactly of the mellow variety.

Tea does not utilize much dub on Biological Warfare --- just a bit here and there --- but the spare arrangements do not suffer from it. If you haven’t listened to Cocoa Tea recently, Biological Warfare has plenty of reasons to jump back on. Despite a career spanning close to three decades, the man isn’t done by a long shot.

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