Cocoa Tea. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer.

Coming up to the close of his latest album 'Yes We Can', which contains the popular song 'Barack Obama', Cocoa Tea gets personal about an issue that has affected many.

However, while many have been convicted for marijuana use, for Cocoa Tea, the real effect was an aftershock nearly a decade later when he was denied entry into the United States.

I'm Not Guilty addresses his 1998 conviction in Barbados for a 'spliff' tail (although Cocoa Tea points out that it was not taken from his person; "them take it off the ground"), which was subsequently expunged from his record.

"Not Guilty is a very serious song," he said. He paid the fine (approximately US$175), but "the effect of that only reach I when I go to the US in 2007 and they cancel I man two visa. They say I need a waiver to get into the US."

Expunged

That was despite the fact that Cocoa Tea "went through a process called expungement. It was expunged from my record from 2005". And although he got the waiver and has since travelled to the US (and will be back again later this week for Obama's inauguration celebrations), very recently, he was still stopped at the airport and asked about the matter.

When he was first denied entry into the US, Cocoa Tea had to take the letter confirming that his record had been cleared to the US Embassy in order to be able to travel to the US again.

Coca Tea is upset about the US laws around non-tolerance on items deemed to be drugs (even as he points out that marijuana is not a drug), saying that they are "ridiculous". A waiver is possible for conviction of possession of under 30 grams; none will be given for amounts over that. "These are some of the laws that I think Barack Obama need to address," Cocoa Tea said.

Illegal

And he points out that if marijuana is illegal, so should alcohol and cigarettes, adding that a highly poisonous substance is used in the tobacco-curing process.

And he said that these days, he does not smoke at all. "I've been a non-smoker for two years," Cocoa Tea said, adding that although the herb is good for you, it is a matter of how it is taken in. And as for those who smoke, "I don't fight 'gainst a one. Each to his own command".

There is the matter of being an example to his children, as "my youth are going to school and I tell them don't smoke. I have to lead by example".

In I'm Not Guilty, Cocoa Tea refers to several offences that people are convicted of, including dog fighting. This is a direct reference to US footballer Michael Vick's 2007 conviction and is an indication of how much Cocoa Tea is in tune with current events.

"That's the reason why I man still in the thing. I am very articulate when things are happening. You can't frighten me, because I will put it in a song. Even when I am at a show, if something happens, I sing about it same time," he said.