Blaqk Sheep and Black Coco team up for ‘Back It Up’

Producer Blaqk Sheep has made the link with Cameroonian recording artiste, Black Coco, for a single titled Back It Up. Described as “a vibrant collaboration that blends the pulse of dancehall with Afrobeats influences while allowing both cultures to stand firmly on their own”, the track is reportedly gaining traction, and has surpassed 100,000 streams on Audiomack.

Blaqk Sheep and his team are currently preparing to expand its promotional campaign across multiple markets and are marketing the song as a fun, sexy dance record driven by infectious drums, bass and bounce.

A press release stated that, for Blaqk Sheep, 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.”

Hearing the Cameroonian singer for the first time, through an Instagram Story, 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 artiste 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.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com