Gifted - Koffee

26th March 2022

Just a few days after the release of Gifted, her debut album, Koffee embarked on a small tour in the UK. Due to high demand, Rough Trade Nottingham added a matinee show and signing. Performing twice in a day is a lot for any performer to do. I attended the evening show. Rachael Anson warmed up the crowd with well known reggae and dancehall. Koffee made her way through the side of the crowd, people close by that started to recognise her began cheering and getting excited. Performing to just 150 people in a tight fitted venue, she managed to get the entire crowd moving, energy bouncing off the walls.

She launched in to Rapture, the hit that introduced a lot of us to Koffee. The guitar riffs gave it more of a stripped down feeling yet the energy was still high. Her stage presence is really in sync with her music, she moves with confidence. It ended with a guitar solo, while Koffee showed us her moves, really jamming out. Where I'm From was up next, a little more mellow but no drop in tempo. Koffee bounced on the stage as the crowd moved with her.

The swing of the reggae beat brought Lonely to centre stage, as the crowd sang along and swayed to the rhythm. Lonely is genuinely the first time I've ever heard Koffee discuss the topic of love in any of her songs, yet she glides on the rhythm with ease and the lyricism feels authentic to her artistry. She follows with Run Away, the duality of Koffee being a talented singer and rapper and also being able to merge the two sounds together seamlessly is prevalent on this song and through this performance, she switches up with ease. Her vocalisations at the end give the song a beautiful send off.

X10 displays how grateful Koffee is for her blessings, it really felt like gratitude washed over us through the melody and sound of her voice. She touches on Defend, pouring her heart out before transitioning fluidly into Shine. Both songs discuss gun violence, so the sequence exhibited Koffee's storytelling ability. The album's title track, Gifted proceeded. Koffee, full of smiles sang to the beaming audience that never stopped moving for a second.

She asked the crowd to make some noise for JAE5 as she launched into Pull Up, it really began to feel like a party, crowd singing and dancing, all around good vibes. West Indies furthered that fiesta feeling, and we were truly having the time of our lives just like the words in the song. The familiar bounce from Toast made the crowd go wild, absolutely a fan favourite. The energy vibrated through the venue until Koffee wheeled it back and took it from the top. The energy was even more immense the second time, the song feels like summer. Koffee's voice can often get swept up in the production of her songs but seeing her live really proves her vocals are exceptional. She hits riffs you wouldn't know she had in her had you not seen her live before. The ultimate guitar solo of the night sounded the stage as Koffee danced, full of joy. She ended the show on a high with Lockdown. The whole crowd danced with Koffee as before, the melody a little more chilled out but the energy never dropping.

A night of positive energy and reggae lit up by the green stage lights, Koffee did not disappoint. While the show was concise, the vitality never faltered. Koffee's debut album has come just in time for the transition from spring into summer. Her impact on music deserves to be recognised, her global success is encouraging more people to listen to reggae. Koffee has proved that she can play in intimate venues and still bring the party, as it isn't always as natural as a bigger concert or a festival, such as Parklife where I was lucky enough to see her last year. She's truly able to bring good vibes wherever she goes.