October 26, 2011
Teddy Dan: Outta Shasamane
With the recent release of Teddy Dan's latest album Outta Shasamane, we have a great third addition, completing the Teddy Dan Trilogy. Teddy Dan remains for me the Rasta Emissary, carrying the same message of African unity that we heard on his previous albums - his 1994 debut album, United States of Africa, followed by the 2006 release Kings Highway.Teddy Dan was born in the late fifties in Trelawny, Jamaica, coming to England when he was thirteen and growing up in East Oxford on the Blackbird Leys estate. For the last ten years he has been resident in a part of Shasamane, a.k.a. Rasta Town, in southern Ethiopia. In 1948, following the defeat of Mussolini's Italian fascism in Ethiopia after its five-year dominance, Ras Tafari (Emperor Haile Selassie I), then leader of Ethiopia, put aside a portion of land, inviting those from the African diaspora to live there. This was a gesture of eternal gratitude for international support in the fight against fascism. Ten years ago, Teddy Dan accepted that invitation.
From its first offering, a ska vibration called East Bound, to the last track, a steppers entitled Shashamane Rock, there is a stream of consciousness; a long poem of perseverance, in the search for African Solidarity. A 14-track paen to peace. Bright, uplifting; radiating Rastafari. Songs to spur you on and keep your head held high. A song of Africa - its natural beauty and human dignity. A collection of one drop brilliance. As well as the first track, my personal favourites are Jah Jah Know, Place in Africa, Jah is Watching, Jah Children Rise Up and Stand Up Right.
Like the great Little Roy, from the original roots reggae epoch, Teddy Dan is an underrated singer-songwriter of the contemporary scene. I hope this album goes somewhere to giving him the much wider respect that he truly deserves.
On Friday 28th October, Teddy Dan will be headlining the Natty Hi-Fi Black History Month Celebration at East Oxford Community Centre, Cowley Road, Oxford, and his new album will be on sale. The evening is dedicated to Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmental and political activist and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who died on September 25.
Come and hear the Rasta Emissary
Sing of African Unity.
Wisdom for your head,
Magic for your feet;
From the Shashamane Embassy.