Koffee's mother was an occasional actress,
Seventh-day Adventist, and a
Ministry of Health employee. Koffee's first musical inspirations stemmed from her mother's religious background. She sang in her church choir, taught herself guitar at the age of 12 on an instrument borrowed from a friend, and began writing lyrics inspired by listening to reggae singer
Protoje. She attended Ardenne High School in Kingston, Jamaica.
2010s In 2016, she won her school talent show at
Ardenne High School located in
Kingston,
Jamaica without realizing that the informal show at which she performed in her school cafeteria had been an audition. She went on to learn music theory and vocal technique in her high school choir. A defining moment for Koffee occurred in her final year of high school when she performed at her school's talent show with other gifted artists in front of about 1,000 people. She indicated that the show gave her the first bit of confidence to perform and deliver music live. Koffee gained popularity after uploading a video to Instagram of her singing. In 2017 she released her first single, "Legend", with just her voice and acoustic guitar. A tribute to Jamaican sprinter
Usain Bolt, Koffee was introduced by
Cocoa Tea at the
Rebel Salute, a reggae festival, and has also performed with her musical inspirations Protoje and
Chronixx. In 2018, Jamaican reggae/dancehall singer, songwriter, and deejay
Cocoa Tea brought her on stage at the 2018
Rebel Salute and
Rototom Sunsplash in Jamaica and Spain respectively. Protoje asked her to perform with him. Chronixx invited her to join him on a
BBC Radio 1Xtra broadcast from
Tuff Gong Studios, and she went on to tour with him in the
UK at venues such as
Bush Hall and at
Alexandra Palace. Koffee and Chronixx appeared on
BBC Music Introducing...LIVE on 10 November. Koffee's December 2018 single "Raggamuffin" called out
gun violence and governmental neglect of the youth. BBC Radio 1Xtra named Koffee one of its "Hot for 2019" artists. Her next single, "Toast", was produced by (izybeats) and (Walshy Fire) of
Major Lazer. Both Chronixx and Protoje appear in the video. 2019. Her "Throne" video, which takes viewers on a tour through her home town of Spanish Town, Jamaica, debuted on
The Fader on 22 January 2019. On 13 November 2019, Koffee was announced as an opening act for
Harry Styles on select dates of the North American leg of his 2020
Love On Tour, and on 3 December as an opening act for the Latin American leg. On 26 November 2019, Koffee released her first cross-over collaborative single "W", featuring
hip-hop artist
Gunna. The song was later featured on the fictional iFruit Radio station in the video game
Grand Theft Auto V.
2020s Rapture won a
Grammy Award at the
62nd Annual Grammy Awards, making Koffee the youngest person (at 19 years old) to be awarded in the
Best Reggae Album category. Koffee was the musical guest on
Nick Cannon's sketch comedy and improv television series ''
Wild 'N Out'' which aired on 18 February 2020, on
VH1. In October 2020, Koffee was named by
Elle magazine as one of "10 Trailblazing Women Changing The Future You Need To Know", the others being:
Mowalola Ogunlesi, Tobi Kyeremateng,
Ngozi Onwurah, Simi Lindgren,
Balanda Atis, Magdalene Abraha, Holly Fischer,
Celeste and
Margaret Busby. Her debut full-length album,
Gifted, was released on 25 March 2022 to positive reviews. In April 2025, Koffee returned with a new single, "Koffee". It marked her first release under the new moniker of Original Koffee. == Awards and nominations ==