T.O.K.’s Alex McCalla Calls J. Cole Sample A Win for Jamaican Creativity

T.O.K.’s Alistaire “Alex” McCalla says J. Cole’s sampling of the group’s 2004 track Footprints on the new album The Fall Off proves Jamaican music still carries weight globally.

McCalla told DancehallMag that the moment goes beyond his group and that he hopes more international producers and artists dig into classic Dancehall and Reggae catalogs in similar ways.

“I am humbled and I’m grateful that the song is still finding audiences so many years later,” he said. “It’s a good thing. I think it does wonders for us as a group, it does wonders for the culture.”

“I hope that many more people will find many more of our songs and many more of our fellow dancehall or reggae songs from other artists to find ways within which ..our music can live on, you know?” he added.

Cole’s song Only You , released last Friday, pulls from both Footprints and Jah Cure’s Longing For, both of which appeared on Don Corleon’s Drop Leaf riddim two decades ago.

“It shows that music is forever, it’s almost like water, I guess in essence, where it—it’s always flowing and it can always be used and added to so many different things to create something else than what it was originally, you know?” McCalla noted.

He also tied the sample to what he sees as Jamaica’s creative resilience.

“I think it speaks also to the culture… it speaks to our tenacity, it speaks to us as a people,” McCalla said. “I think in terms of the fact that we are always, no matter which way, how, finding ourselves within the midst of doing something unique, you know?”

He added: “There is no place like yard. We as Jamaican people are the most—one of the most creative and the most unique set of people on the planet.”

Footprints has over 12 million views on YouTube and 23 million plays on Spotify.

Formed in Kingston in 1996, T.O.K. comprises Alistaire “Alex” McCalla, Roshaun “Bay-C” Clarke, Craig “Craigy T” Thompson, and Xavier “Flexx” Davidson.

In addition to Footprints, the group is known for their hit songs Wacky Dip, Gal You Ah Lead, Chi Chi Man, Solid As A Rock, Money 2 Burn, She’s Hot, Shake Your Bam Bam and Galang Gal.