With March 11th approaching, Hopeton Lindo prepared to mark one year since the death of his close friend Cocoa Tea in a special way. He did so with the release of the video to ‘Hard Ears’, a song he recorded seven years ago.

The visual features Cocoa Tea, Perfect Giddimani, Real McKoy and Andre from Kingtrendsetter Sound.

Produced by Sly and Robbie and Rorey Baker, ‘Hard Ears’ was officially released in February, 2019. Written by Lindo, it is driven by the rhythm of Black Uhuru’s ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’.

Cocoa Tea was present when Lindo recorded his vocals at Trainline Studio in South Florida.

“I let Cocoa Tea hear the demo and he loved the idea and said he wanted to come with me to the studio when I’m ready to voice. Next day, I booked Trainline studio for the recording session, picked up Cocoa and we drove to the studio where he actually supervised my voicing of the song. After we finished, he said, “dah one yah gone, Iyah’,” Lindo disclosed.

Getting Cocoa Tea’s seal of approval meant a lot to Lindo. The two had been friends since 1989 when they met at producer Gussie Clarke’s recording studio in Kingston, Jamaica.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Lindo cut several songs for Clarke including ‘Not Another Lonely Night’. He also wrote or co-wrote hit songs for Maxi Priest (‘Temptress’) and J C Lodge (‘Telephone Love’) which Clarke also produced.

Cocoa Tea, one of dancehall’s most enduring artistes, also tasted success with Clarke during the 1990s. He had chart-riders with ‘Pirate’s Anthem’ and ‘Holding On’, both of which featured Shabba Ranks and Home T.

His stellar career, which thrived during the 1980s and 1990s, produced rockers like ‘Lost my Sonia’, ‘Rocking Dolly’ and ‘Young Lover’. He was 65 when he died from cancer in Fort Lauderdale.

‘Hard Ears’ is one of many songs Lindo recorded with Sly and Robbie, who died in January, 2026 and December, 2021, respectively.

He considers those recordings a career highlight.

“It’s always an honour to work with Sly and Robbie who are two of my mentors, who I have been working with for years. It was also great to have Cocoa Tea involved as it took the song to another level,” said Lindo.