Popcaan
Artist. Dancehall
- Active
- 2007-present
- Sunrise
- St. Thomas, Jamaica
- Also known as
- Andrae Sutherland, Andrae Hugh Sutherland
Popcaan is a deejay and melodic singjay from Portmore, the best-known protege of Vybz Kartel's Gaza camp, whose records reached far beyond Jamaica in the 2010s.
Born Andrae Sutherland in the hills of St. Thomas, he moved with his family to Portmore at about seven and grew up in the Three West scheme, known as Gangsta City; a friend, later lost to street violence, gave him his name. He thought of joining the army but chose music: "Me choose music, but nuff of my friends lose their life living other lives." A fan of Kartel since school, he caught his attention at a local party and became his right-hand man, with Kartel as mentor and producer and a place on the Sting and Sumfest stages. "Clarks" (2010), with Kartel, brought him worldwide notice and won song and collaboration of the year at the EME Awards, and "Ravin'," "Party Shot" and "Only Man She Want" followed on his own. Jesse Serwer called his voice "piercing and unmistakable, a high-pitched aural weapon with a unique frequency"; Caroline Sullivan, reviewing a concert, found it "supple and sweet" without the Auto-Tune of the records.
His debut album, Where We Come From (2014), made with Dre Skull for the Brooklyn label Mixpak, reached number two on the Billboard reggae chart, and Forever followed in 2018. In December of that year Drake, a guest at Popcaan's Unruly Fest, announced that he had signed to OVO Sound. With Dre Island he made "We Pray" (2017), and his later albums include Fixtape (2020) and Great Is He (2023).
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Vybz Kartel (mentor)
- Dre Island (collaborator)
Notes
- Gladstone Taylor, "The Great Divide in Dancehall: The Lasting Effects of the Gully vs Gaza Feud," DancehallMag, September 4, 2020, https://dancehallmag.com/?p=18605. Rob Kenner, "Who Is Popcaan?," Complex, January 19, 2012, https://www.complex.com/music/a/rob-kenner/who-is-popcaan.
- Kenner, "Who Is Popcaan?" "Popcaan," Reggaeville, accessed October 22, 2026, https://www.reggaeville.com/artist-details/popcaan/about/ dates his joining Gaza to 2007. Serwer has him going to Portmore at fourteen, not seven. Jesse Serwer, "Cover Story: Popcaan Is Making Dancehall Nice Again," The Fader, June 3, 2014, https://www.thefader.com/2014/06/03/popcaan-dancehall-cover-story-feature.
- "Popcaan," Reggaeville. Kenner, "Who Is Popcaan?," on "Clarks," recorded with Kartel and Gaza Slim on ZJ Chrome's Mad Collab rhythm.
- Serwer, "Cover Story." Caroline Sullivan, "Popcaan Review: Lordly Dancehall with a Motivational Zing," Guardian, via Inkl, accessed November 5, 2026, https://www.inkl.com/news/popcaan-review-lordly-dancehall-with-a-motivational-zing.
- "Popcaan," Reggaeville. Joe Price, "Drake Says Popcaan Has Signed to OVO Sound," Complex, December 23, 2018, https://www.complex.com/music/2018/12/drake-says-popcaan-signed-to-ovo.
- See the entry on Dre Island. "Popcaan," Reggaeville.
