Koffee Says She Would Like To Remix One Of Bob Marley’s Iconic Songs
Reggae sensation Koffee recently spoke highly of Bob Marley as she shared a few takeaways from observing the Reggae legend’s career, as well as the song that has inspired one of her ultimate career goals—a remix of one of Bob’s iconic tracks.
The Grammy Award winner — famous for her intricate rhymes and dynamic flow — was speaking on BBC 1Xtra’s Influence With…, where she shared her favorite tracks from the King of Reggae.
Koffee, 21, spoke excitedly about the dub-heavy re-up of Turn Your Lights Down Low featuring Ex-Factor crooner Lauryn Hill, which was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards in 2000. Like Koffee, Hill was already enjoying critical success by her early 20’s and the Toast singer revealed that a similar Marley remix was among her career goals.
“It’s a song that’s special to me because I think it shows the generations that Bob’s music stretches across. It shows the longevity of the music, of Reggae music the genre but also of Bob’s work,” Koffee said.
“I would love to even remix something of Bob’s in a similar way so that’s inspirational to me.”
The Turn Your Lights Down Low remix appeared on 1999’s Chant Down Babylon album, which had featured remixes and covers of Bob Marley songs by several modern soul, hip-hop, and rock artists including Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, Rakim, Steven Tyler, and The Roots.
The song remains one of the few commercially successful Bob Marley remixes, peaking at No. 1 on the UK R&B Chart and getting a Gold certification in France for sales exceeding 250,000 copies.
The BBC1xtra program offers fans the chance to “get to know an artist’s musical DNA and their influences from their perspective,” and the pint-sized singer/deejay selected fourteen other songs spanning Bob’s entire eighteen-year catalog, predating the locs and the larger-than-life persona he’s now widely known for.
On the playlist were the notably mellow tracks Waiting In Vain, and I’m Still Waiting from Bob’s Trenchtown days, Is This Love and Easy Skanking.
She also spoke on starting the six-part series with a Marley feature, praising his penchant for writing “simple song[s] with a beautiful message.”
“It’s important for me to start this off with Bob Marley because other than being born in my birth month, February, I think it’s somebody who I really resonate with,” Koffee said.
“It’s an artist who I don’t think there’s a track that he has put out that doesn’t connect or it doesn’t hit home to me, so I just really appreciate his writing skills. I know he’s a good musician as well and I’m an aspiring musician so yeah, Bob feels like home.”
She commented on “Bob’s rawness of expression” and his “bravery and courage” after playing the tracks No Woman, No Cry, Redemption Song, 400 Years and No More Trouble.
“I think that’s a very good quality fi have, just being courageous and being talented enough fi express it in a way that many people can appreciate,” Koffee said.
Closing off the hour-long playlist with what Bob Marley means to her personally, Koffee stated that “It’s a lot, him really mean a lot to me, he’s definitely the epitome of what a great artist is and what a great artist should be.”
“Going from his actual creativity and talent, his expression, work ethic, stage presence, there’s many things I can learn from Bob and I do continue to learn from him so we give thanks for Bob Marley and his presence and his music.”
Koffee won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2020 with her Rapture EP. She is set to release her debut album via RCA Records in 2022.
West Indies, the first single from the still-untitled project, has 4.8 million views on YouTube since its release on October 5.