Dancehall singer Cocoa Tea hit it big with Riker’s Island.

The song is one of his most famous in a career that has spanned more than three decades.

Love Me Truly and Hurry Up and Come also scored big with dancehall fans; they’re likely on the artist’s list for his performance at the National Sports Centre on March 24.

“The most important thing in showbusiness as an artist is to try and be current with music for the people because music transcends every generation,” said the 56-year-old Jamaican. “My generation, and the generation after, will feel it and relate to what you are doing and when music is good people always want to hear it.”

The artist, whose given name is Calvin Scott, was born in Clarendon Parish.

He became a star in his home country in the mid-1980s but it wasn’t until about a decade later that his career took off worldwide. According to Cocoa Tea, his songwriting has always been shaped by the positive things around him.

“I am inspired by a lot of people and made by people who do good things because my music is based on people who do good things and good things that happen — like love and reality, current affairs and things like that,” he said. “I am inspired by a lot of people but mostly by the work of people who have done good and aspire to do good to people.”

Cocoa Tea last performed here in 2000. Etana and Tarrus Riley will join him at the upcoming Bermuda Easter Fiesta.

“It’s going to be a great show and I am looking forward to being in Bermuda again because it’s been a long time now,” Cocoa Tea said. “I am just coming to deliver. That’s what I’m all about because I have been doing it for so many years.

“I am definitely excited to be coming back. Bermuda is a small island but the people are so full of vibes and things like that.

“The last time I was there the people loved the music and they were very receptive of me. The people there can expect nothing but the best. It’s a long time the people don’t hear Cocoa Tea, so I have to come and deliver. A lot of my fans out there never saw me performing, and so I will be back there to do a great show for them.”

He continued: “I think as an entertainer experience teaches wisdom so you grow, and so I think I’m definitely a better performer now than when people saw me in Bermuda a long time ago. This time people are going to be in awe to what they are going to be hearing because it’s going to be a different Cocoa Tea from the one they saw when I was last there more than ten years ago.

“I am a much better performer right now, so if you miss this show you are going to be missing something special.”