Dancehall artist Shenseea is now the only female Jamaican artist signed to a major label, following World Music Views’ report that Koffee no longer has the backing of Sony Music through RCA Records to market and promote her music.
Koffee, was among a handful of Jamaican artists that signed record deals in the last 8 years and was marked as one of Jamaica’s most promising reggae stars.
It was first reported by Rolling Stone on February 7, 2020, that she is signed with RCA Records shortly after making history as the youngest and first female recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Rolling Stone stated that Koffee initially signed with Columbia Records UK before partnering with RCA in the U.S. as part of a deal with the UK-based Promised Land Records to expand her global reach.
However, recent comments from Ferdy Unger-Hamilton, owner of Promised Land Records, contradict earlier reports about her RCA affiliation. Speaking to the Jamaica Observer, Unger-Hamilton dismissed claims that Koffee was dropped, stating, “Koffee is, and has always been, signed with Promised Land Records. Promised Land’s deal with Sony ended over two years ago, and we [Promised Land] are now distributed through Virgin.”
Despite his clarification, the reality remains that Koffee no longer has major label backing from RCA, and her current distribution deal with Virgin does not offer the same level of U.S. industry support. A search of RCA’s artist roster no longer lists Koffee, though fellow dancehall artist Skillibeng remains on their lineup.
Last year Unger-Hamilton, a former Polydor and Columbia Records UK boss told Made By Music Podcast that: “People are having big songs, but big artists are not coming through,” adding that it’s harder than even for music acts to break through mainstream.
Before the Promised Land Records parted ways with Sony and took Koffee with them, RCA co-president John Fleckenstein had expressed confidence in Koffee’s global potential, telling Rolling Stone five years ago, “Her success is not gonna end in Jamaica. It’s gonna end on a global level.” RCA had positioned itself as a label willing to take risks on non-mainstream artists, having previously achieved success with Nigerian star Davido.
While Koffee’s career has been marked by major concert appearances like Coachella, tours with Lauryn Hill and collabs with Sam Smith, her trajectory in the U.S. market has faced challenges on the charts. Limited streaming data from her core fan base in Jamaica and restricted radio play opportunities in the American industry posed significant obstacles. Her breakthrough hit, Toast, earned over 50 million on-demand streams in the U.S. in 2019, receiving endorsements from Rihanna and former U.S. President Barack Obama. However, despite its popularity, the song never reached the Billboard Hot 100. As of March 2025, Toast has surpassed 191 million streams on Spotify, contributing to her career total of 500 million streams. Her highest-streaming single remains W, featuring Atlanta rapper Gunna, with 77 million plays.
Unger-Hamilton assured that “new music is coming very soon,” yet it has been three years since Koffee’s debut album Gifted was released.
