Biography
Mikayla Simpson, known professionally as Koffee, is a Jamaican vocalist, emcee, turntablist, and guitarist whose energetic blend of dancehall, reggae, and rap brought her worldwide notice and a recording contract with Columbia. The label put out her first EP, Rapture, in 2019; the project captured a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. After lending guest vocals to tracks by J Hus and John Legend, Koffee finally delivered her debut full-length, Gifted, in 2022.
Born in 2000 and raised solely by her mother in Spanish Town on the outskirts of Kingston, Simpson performed in the local church choir during childhood and mastered the guitar on her own by age twelve. Early inspiration came from Jamaican reggae figures such as Protoje and Chronixx; she started composing her own lyrics in her mid-teens and won her school’s talent competition in 2016. The nickname Koffee originated on an especially warm afternoon when she alone requested hot coffee while companions chose cold drinks. Under that name she issued an acoustic rendition of “Legend,” a tribute to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, in 2017; the accompanying clip spread rapidly across Instagram. Her follow-up single, “Burning,” reworked Upsetta Records’ “Ouji Riddim” and ascended multiple U.S. reggae charts.
In 2018, still only eighteen, Koffee shared stages with both Protoje and Chronixx, including a BBC session recorded at Kingston’s historic Tuff Gong Studios and a subsequent U.K. tour alongside Chronixx. Momentum increased after she signed with Columbia U.K. and issued the singles “Toast” and “Ragamuffin,” both of which appeared on Rapture when the EP arrived in 2019 and immediately topped Billboard’s reggae chart. That November Koffee released the track “W,” a collaboration with U.S. rapper Gunna; the song charted in the U.K. and accumulated millions of streams globally. At the 62nd Grammy Awards she received the trophy for Best Reggae Album for Rapture, becoming the youngest recipient and the first woman to earn the honor.
Further exposure arrived via Koffee’s feature on J Hus’s single “Repeat,” which peaked at number twenty-one in the U.K., and her appearance on John Legend’s “Don’t Walk Away.” She also issued standalone tracks such as “Lockdown,” “Pressure,” and “The Harder They Fall.” “Pull Up” served as the immediate precursor to her first studio album, Gifted, which surfaced in March 2022.
Born in 2000 and raised solely by her mother in Spanish Town on the outskirts of Kingston, Simpson performed in the local church choir during childhood and mastered the guitar on her own by age twelve. Early inspiration came from Jamaican reggae figures such as Protoje and Chronixx; she started composing her own lyrics in her mid-teens and won her school’s talent competition in 2016. The nickname Koffee originated on an especially warm afternoon when she alone requested hot coffee while companions chose cold drinks. Under that name she issued an acoustic rendition of “Legend,” a tribute to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, in 2017; the accompanying clip spread rapidly across Instagram. Her follow-up single, “Burning,” reworked Upsetta Records’ “Ouji Riddim” and ascended multiple U.S. reggae charts.
In 2018, still only eighteen, Koffee shared stages with both Protoje and Chronixx, including a BBC session recorded at Kingston’s historic Tuff Gong Studios and a subsequent U.K. tour alongside Chronixx. Momentum increased after she signed with Columbia U.K. and issued the singles “Toast” and “Ragamuffin,” both of which appeared on Rapture when the EP arrived in 2019 and immediately topped Billboard’s reggae chart. That November Koffee released the track “W,” a collaboration with U.S. rapper Gunna; the song charted in the U.K. and accumulated millions of streams globally. At the 62nd Grammy Awards she received the trophy for Best Reggae Album for Rapture, becoming the youngest recipient and the first woman to earn the honor.
Further exposure arrived via Koffee’s feature on J Hus’s single “Repeat,” which peaked at number twenty-one in the U.K., and her appearance on John Legend’s “Don’t Walk Away.” She also issued standalone tracks such as “Lockdown,” “Pressure,” and “The Harder They Fall.” “Pull Up” served as the immediate precursor to her first studio album, Gifted, which surfaced in March 2022.
Albums
Singles
