Naomi Cowan and Johnny Osbourne Connect Generations on ‘Version’

Naomi Cowan brings Johnny Osbourne into a playful reggae meditation on love, intimacy and building a family

Naomi Cowan brings together two generations of Jamaican reggae on “Version,” a collaboration with veteran singer Johnny Osbourne that appears on her debut album, Welcome To Paradise.

Released on October 10, 2025 through Easy Star Records, “Version” is the fourth track on the 12-song album. The song runs for 2:28 and features Cowan, Osbourne and British producer Toddla T, who worked with Cowan throughout the project.

At the centre of the song is Cowan’s idea of creating “another version” with someone she loves. The language draws heavily from reggae and sound-system culture, with references to dubplates, riddims, Orange Street, roots rock and performing together.

But beneath those musical references is a more personal concept.

Cowan told the Jamaica Gleaner that “Version” was written around the idea of procreation and building a family from a female perspective. She described it as her favourite song on the album and said the writing process allowed her to play with the concept in a way that made the session particularly enjoyable.

Johnny Osbourne’s involvement gives the track an additional connection to reggae’s history. One of the genre’s established voices, Osbourne appears alongside Cowan as she places her contemporary perspective within a musical framework informed by Jamaica’s reggae and dancehall traditions.

That intergenerational element is consistent with the wider direction of Welcome To Paradise. Easy Star Records describes the album as a project rooted in reggae and dancehall while exploring Cowan’s personal journey through themes including love, lust, loss and self-discovery.

Cowan has also described the album’s musical approach as a combination of foundational reggae elements and contemporary production. Speaking to the Gleaner, she said she and her producer wanted to retain elements such as horns, basslines and grooves while combining them with modern drums and textures.

“Version” sits naturally within that approach. Its language is deeply connected to Jamaican music culture, while the production gives the song a contemporary setting rather than attempting to reproduce an earlier era.

The track also demonstrates Cowan’s willingness to use reggae vocabulary to explore subjects that extend beyond conventional love-song themes. The idea of a “version” becomes both a musical reference and a playful metaphor for what can emerge when two people come together.

For Osbourne, the collaboration represents another appearance in a new generation of reggae music. His contribution places an established Jamaican voice alongside Cowan as she develops her own musical identity.

The result is a compact track that connects reggae’s past with its present without separating the two. Cowan supplies the contemporary perspective, while Osbourne’s presence reinforces the musical lineage behind the record.

“Version” is ultimately less about recreating the past than using the language of Jamaican reggae to tell a modern story about intimacy, love and the possibility of creating something new together.

It is one of the clearest examples on Welcome To Paradise of Cowan using reggae’s established musical vocabulary while putting her own perspective at the centre.