Cocoa Tea looks to ‘Build Back NY’ with COVID-19 recovery song

With airports shuttered and planes finding a resting place in aviation graveyards, even as the coronavirus appears to be the only force that still has a visa, musicians are flicking out their (diplomatic) immunity passports and fighting back. One such is reggae singer Cocoa Tea, whose tribute song has swept into New York, the COVID-19 epicentre.

The uplifting message of the song is proclaimed in the title, Build Back New York. Five minutes into the interview with THE STAR, Cocoa Tea received a call from popular New York disc jock, DJ Roy, who told him that the song couldn't have come at a better time, and asked if he wasn't being bombarded by calls from the media.

"When an artiste do a song like this about your city, the media have to call," an elated DJ Roy told Cocoa Tea.

The singer told THE STAR that he didn't really want to do a coronavirus song. Because it is such a deadly disease, memories of it would be too sad, especially for those who lost loved ones.

"But after seeing how this thing do New York, I knew I had to acknowledge it, but with a different kind of song. I sat down and thought about it and figured out that the people would need something that tells them that there is a brighter day and that they can move on after the virus. I needed to give them a song that shows that we care," Coco Tea said. He pointed out that New York has so far recorded nearly 29,000 COVID-19-related deaths.

His efforts to bring hope have apparently paid off, because the feedback is that the tune has been receiving massive airplay, with fans calling to say how much they appreciate the sentiments.

" You can put New York to any test, we will come together and shine like the sun" and " New Yorkers are tough, and just like 9/11, New Yorkers will rise again", are some of the words of encouragement in Build Back New York.

Cocoa Tea emphasised the special connection between New York and the Jamaican artistic community. He mentioned that it was the very first place that most artistes visited for their debut performances outside of Jamaica.

Additionally, many of them have relatives, friends, fans and a host of business contacts, including producers, promoters and selectors living in the Big Apple.