BLAQK SHEEP BRIDGES JAMAICA AND CAMEROON ON BLACK COCO’S “BACK IT UP”
Jamaican producer Blaqk Sheep is widening his international reach with “Back It Up,” a vibrant collaboration with Cameroonian recording artiste Black Coco that blends the pulse of Dancehall with Afrobeats influences while allowing both cultures to stand firmly on their own.
Already gaining traction, “Back It Up” has surpassed 100,000 streams on Audiomack, giving the record an early boost as Blaqk Sheep and his team prepare to expand its promotional campaign across multiple markets.
“Back It Up” is built for movement a fun, sexy dance record driven by infectious drums, bass and bounce. For Blaqk Sheep, however, the strength of the collaboration is that neither artiste nor producer had to sacrifice their musical identity to make it work.
“It doesn’t sound like we sat down and said, ‘Let’s make an Afrobeats and Dancehall fusion because that’s popular.’ It happened naturally,” he said. “Black Coco brought her voice and her culture, and I brought what I know about Dancehall, drums, bass and making records move.”
The connection between the two began unexpectedly after Blaqk Sheep came across Black Coco through a Kim’s Media House Instagram Story. Hearing the Cameroonian singer for the first time immediately caught his attention, particularly her commanding vocals and ability to move between English and her native language.
Rather than reshape her sound, Blaqk Sheep built the production around it.
“I don’t believe in making an artist fit whatever sound is popular at the time,” he explained. “I’d rather listen to what they naturally do well and produce around that.”
Black Coco recorded her vocals at Gorilla Sound House in Cameroon, with Markdat engineering the session, while Blaqk Sheep produced the record and later handled its mixing and mastering at The Cook Shop in Jamaica.
With the streaming numbers climbing, attention is now turning to taking “Back It Up” beyond digital platforms. A dance challenge is being prepared, alongside promotional efforts involving dancers, influencers and content creators in different markets.
“I want to hear it outside,” Blaqk Sheep said. “I want DJs playing it and dancers doing their own thing with it. Streams are good, but there’s a different feeling when you hear something you made playing somewhere and watch people react to it.”
The release comes as Blaqk Sheep continues to show his range beyond Dancehall. His recently released spoken-word and motivational album, Motivational Blueprint II, features ZJ Sparks, British actor Ansu Kabia, Qraig of Voicemail and Nature Restored, with Blaqk Sheep also contributing vocally while handling production, mixing and mastering.
For the Jamaican producer, “Back It Up” signals more of what is ahead as he pursues collaborations beyond Jamaica without losing the foundation of his sound.
“I’m Jamaican, so that will always be in my sound, but I want to work with good artists wherever they come from,” he said. “The interesting part for me is hearing what happens when both sides keep their own identity.”
“Back It Up” is available now on digital streaming platforms.
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