Popcaan, Drake’s ‘We Caa Done’ Team Up, And 9 More New Songs

Though only a week into the New Year, Jamaican artists are already seizing the moment with new music to get the ball rolling. From party starters to reflective bangers, we round up week one of 2023 in Jamaican music, and take a look at the new releases making waves from Drake, Popcaan, Kabaka Pyramid, Buju Banton, Intence, Shane O, Jahmiel, and more.

WE CAA DONE – Popcaan ft. Drake

Already up to one million views on YouTube only a day after its release, We Caa Done is yet another reminder of what happens Popcaan and Drake get on a track together.  It was produced by Congolese-born TRESOR and Batundi, who previously teamed up for Drake’s Fountains with TEMS.

Directed by Theo Skudra, the music video, which features NBA star Kevin Durant and rapper Lil Yachty, was shot in Turks and Caicos, where Popcaan had also linked up with No Role Modelz rapper J. Cole.  The video primarily takes place on the water and begins with Popcaan in the frame lighting up a blunt. It ends with a festive meetup between the Unruly Boss, Drake, their entourage and – of course – women. The song features the OVO Boss laying down an impressively mellow hook in which he struts his much-improved impression of a Jamaican accent. He sings:

“Try fi rush me off, try fi brush me off I see
Badman like skull and me from Unruly
Girl why pree,
Why pree, why pree, why pree,
Disrespect we and shot ago beat
Dey tryna say we done p#@@y we cyaa done.”

Popcaan drives the track, however, delivering two colorful verses worthy of this, his third official release with Drake.

FADED AWAY – Kabaka Pyramid ft. Buju Banton

Kabaka Pyramid and Buju Banton sampled Junior Byles’ 1979 hit Fade Away for this track, Faded Away – a cautionary tale about the dangers of vain pursuits and the lack of balance. The song was produced by Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley and though released on September 29, 2022, the two officially premiered its music video on January 6. The single comes from Kabaka Pyramid’s Grammy-nominated album, The Kalling.

DEEDS – Intence

Intence kicked off his 2023 campaign in an introspective mood, reflecting on loss, life and aspirations in Deeds, a track produced by Futuristic Music and IAMWAV Music for VP Records. Filmed in Canada and released on January 1, Deeds had a few sobering moments throughout the TheKNemesis-directed video. In it, Intence can be seen making his way through a graveyard with a bottle of Wray and Nephew in hand. He approaches a few graves – seemingly of friends, and begins to pour the liquor on them. The choice to sing about dreams of the future while remembering his friends who won’t get a chance to pursue theirs served as a deeply grounding metaphor for the song’s evocative and introspective mood.

BIG UP USELF – Shane O 

Shane O proves his success last year was no fluke with this creatively delivered introspection about fake friends. While an overplayed trope in Dancehall, Shane O delivers on it well using extremely relatable anecdotes, driving home the message of protecting yourself from parasitic relationships. He undresses the usually aggressively delivered theme and strips it down to its bare bones, revealing that the issue is one about boundaries. He also takes it a step further and wishes those friends well, evidenced by the title ‘Big Up Uself’. Released on January 6, the song is produced by Long Life Music and Bob Mental Entertainment.

TOGETHER – Charly Black 

Charly Black gets in touch with his emotional side on this appreciation-heavy single, with its video produced by Dameon Gayle. While not the terrain we are used to seeing him in, Black makes a respectable vocal presentation, paving the way for his 2023 run. The song is produced by Warriors Musick Productions.

I SEE YOU – Konshens

Dancehall singer Konshens seems to have made an early bid for song of the summer with this upbeat, Afrobeat-reminiscent love song about fighting for his relationship. In the track which has all the makings of a party rocker, he makes the case that though he doesn’t understand how their fickle love is surviving, he wouldn’t trade it for anything because in her eyes he sees “love, light, kids” and a wife. He adds, “I see wrong, I see wrong, I see black, I see white, I see everything in your eyes, I see you.” Konshens no doubt flexes his versatility on this Berta Records-produced track, released on January 5.

BEAST MODE – Chronic Law

Jamaica’s number one streamed artist on YouTube (locally) last year has signaled his intentions for 2023 to be more of the same with the music video for his song Beast Mode. The Hungry Lion Records-produced track sees Chronic Law delivering a heartfelt reflection about hardships, pain, and success. He talks about the rarely explored dilemma of finding success yet still feeling pain and emptiness. He also takes time to reflect on how his circumstances growing up have shaped him – from being poor to being unable to attend school for weeks on end because of gun violence, to reaping success in spite of that. Ultimately, the song is a timely reminder that success without peace is fleeting, and that and that one should never forget their roots while attempting to move forward. While it is unclear where the video was shot, Chronic Law is captured walking along dirt tracks in a rural area, supposedly where he grew up.

WARRIOR – Jahvillani

Whether intentional or purely coincidental, the theme of introspection continued among Dancehall artists into week one of the New Year with Jahvillani adding his currently trending track, Warrior, to the list. Produced by VP Records and YGF Records, Warrior reminds that the world is a cold place, and the only way to survive is to “fight like a warrior” – a sentiment repeatedly echoed as the hook for the single. The video is a montage of various life events and tragedies, from two men fighting for as long as the song lasted, prostitution, and gun violence. Jahvillani uses the opportunity throughout the track to reaffirm that his kids won’t become victims to the hard life, as they will be ‘set’. He also briefly explores faith, adding that he chooses not to be involved with the church because of hypocrisy.

FAVORITE DRESS – Jahmiel  

Jahmiel continues his enviable streak of hits with this mellow-sounding love song titled Favorite Dress. Produced by Sweet Music Production, the song was released on January 6 and has since been trending on YouTube. The video is a throwback to an old-school, country type of love, wherein Jahmiel plays himself as a head-over-heels admirer of a girl he believes will be his wife, who works as a dressmaker. Scenes of chickens walking around, lush greenery and relatively worn board houses complete the warmth-giving video, perfectly complemented by Jahmiel’s passion-filled delivery. He tells her in the Aka .Ruppi-directed video, “Mi put mi hands pon yuh like yuh favorite dress, mek mi lips be yuh necklace.”

The single will be featured on an “All Girl Songs” rhythm project which will be released in the weeks ahead on the Sweet Music Production label. 

LOYALTY – Teejay, Chronic Law

Two of Dancehall’s heavyweights, Teejay and Chronic Law, guaranteed themselves a hit when they combined to create ‘Loyalty’. The song, which speaks about the importance of loyalty and being there for the people who have been there for you, comes as an introspective look at a concept often talked about but not quite understood. Both artists carried their weight on this one, which ultimately resulted in in a track we can expect to dominate the airwaves as the year goes along.