“Wha gwaan Popcaan?” The first words heard on the hit song Clarks made the world know the name of Vybz Kartel’s top protégé. Those same three words can be read as both a question (“What’s going on?”) and an answer (“Papi.”)
Although he played more of a supporting role on Clarks—a song whose international success caused a worldwide spike in sales of the British shoe—Popcaan has been on a major roll ever since the summer of 2011 on the strength of songs like Ravin, Party Shot and Only Man She Want. Born Andrae Sutherland in the parish of St. Thomas, Papi (aka Hot Skull) relocated to Portmore at the age of 7. He was raised in a housing scheme called Three West or “Gangsta City”. Popcaan’s love of music emerged at an early age. He always stood out above other performers at high school concerts, but decided to stop attending school to avoid getting embroiled in heated street confrontations that took the lives of many friends—including his good friend Scumpy, who first gave him the name Popcaan. As he struggled to steer clear of the negativity that surrounded him, Popcaan never considered music a viable career option. At one point he planned to join the Jamaica Defense Force as a soldier. But in 2007 Vybz Kartel noticed his skills at a local jam and recruited the young deejay to his Portmore Empire. Popcaan was soon in the studio making music for Adidjaheim Productions with then in-house producer NotNice, the first person to voice him professionally. Papi got off to a strong start with Gal Wine on the Gal Farm Riddim, following up with a string of hits including It Nuh Work So, Jah Jah Protect Me, Gangsta City, Dream, and Hot Grabba. It was the success of Ravin, Popcaan’s song on the 2011 Summertime Riddim, that took his career to a new level. Now known as “The Ravin King,” Popcaan followed that smash with nothing but hits —from Party Shot on T.J. Records’ Smudge Riddim to his latest smash Only Man She Want, which is featured on the new compilation Certified Boomshots, Vol. 1 “Music is the key to everything,” Popcaan says. “So we never get hype and we just write songs—you see me? It’s all about giving them new styles and new slangs and new sounds. I just do work and the hard work is paying off.”
