Koffee’s ‘Defend’ Was Produced By Kendrick Lamar: “You Might Hear More From His Side, Too”
So, Koffee‘s early 2020 tease that she would be collaborating with American rapper Kendrick Lamar has materialized into Defend, a 57-second track off her debut album Gifted, which was released late last month. However, there might be more music on the way from the two.
In Defend, Koffee rapidly sifts through poignant verses, bringing light to police brutality, crime, and sociopolitical realities in her homeland of Spanish Town, Jamaica. In the lyrics, she even name-dropped Kendrick, who took the producer’s chair alongside Soundwave, Frank Dukes, and Dahi to lay down the beats for the slow-tempo instrumental.
“I worked with Kendrick Lamar on this track, which was a really dope experience,” Koffee told Apple Music, while speaking about Defend.
“In my heart, I didn’t want this project (Gifted) to be too heavy,” she said. “On Rapture, the songs are more political, but this one (Defend) is short and simple—and represents for the fans that love that vibe,” she explained.
She also told Clash Magazine that they had spent one night together in the studio, and hinted that there may be more on the way, with the HUMBLE. rapper possibly billed as lead artist on a new song, or him adding verses to Defend.
“You might hear more from his side, too.,” she teased. “But he’s cool. Very, very, very cool. Even from spending one night with him, you can tell he’s very honest, and very introspective in his process. He’s immensely talented.”
“When you work with your favourite artists, sometimes it doesn’t meet your expectations,” she warned. “But with Kendrick… it definitely exceeded my expectations!”
The Source Magazine reported last month that a follow-up to Kendrick’s Grammy Award-winning DAMN. album (2017) may be imminent—perhaps, Koffee will be among its features.
The Compton-born rapper, 34, has 14 Grammy Awards under his belt and is known for several multi-platinum RIAA hits including The Recipe, B-tch, Don’t Kill My Vibe, DNA., LOYALTY. with Rihanna, LOVE. with Zacari, Poetic Justice with Drake, M.A.A.D. City with Mc Eiht, and Swimming Pools (Drank).
But he’s no stranger to producing.
In 2018, Kendrick, along with Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith wrote and produced 14 songs for the soundtrack for the Marvel Studios superhero film Black Panther, titled Black Panther: The Album, according to the New York Times.
Lamar also had an executive producer credit on rapper Jay Rock’s third album, Redemption in 2018, on which he also appeared on a second single, Wow Freestyle.
He also worked on ScHoolboy Q’s 2018 album Blank Face LP, which was believed to be his first production credit on the track Overtime which features Miguel and Justine Skye. The song was also co-produced by Cardo.
Koffee’s Defend is track 2 on her 10-track album Gifted, which was released on March 25 via Promise Land, RCA, and Columbia Records.
The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and No. 9 on the Official UK Albums chart. She was the first female Jamaican artist in the Top 10 of the UK chart in 27 years—following her fellow Spanish Town native Diana King.
Gifted sold 3,500 units during its first week of release in the United States. With its 18-track deluxe edition, which includes Toast, Rapture, and W with Gunna, the album has moved 188,100 units in total, so far.