Gabriel Teodros

Artist Information

Biography

Gabriel Teodros is the everyday journeyman with more stories to tell than most people twice his age. Having seen both city and countryside through the eyes of a struggling artist and immigrant child, Teodros spins observations and wordplay into internationalism on wax. Linking first and third world people's struggles, he is sincere when he says "we in this together son, your beef is mine."

From ciphers at Westlake to spending months in Vancouver and Brooklyn, Gabriel's story is one of trial, tribulation and a search for redemption. The contrast of his onstage ferocity with his offstage humility reveals a multifaceted spirit who understands that the political is personal. Whether addressing political repression and resistance in East Africa or reflecting on the effects of patriarchy in his relationships, Teodros captures each moment soulfully with his unmistakably (north)west coast delivery.

Teodros has left a mark in the underground NW hiphop scene as one half of the duo Abyssinian Creole (with emcee Khingz & DJ WD4D), and since the late 90's has been seen rocking microphones from classrooms to theatres, clubs, stadiums, protests, prisons to street corners alongside the likes of Zap Mama, Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, K'naan, Ozomatli, Barrington Levy, KRS-One, Digable Planets and Fishbone to name a few. Even before dropping his solo masterpiece, 'Lovework,' Teodros already had love from a community who eagerly anticipate his next story to tell.

Since the release of 'Lovework' Gabriel Teodros reached #1 on the CMJ Hip Hop Charts, released 4 music videos, was featured on NPR and in URB Magazine's "Next 100", and has been recieving rave reviews everywhere from Rolling Stone to Okayplayer.com Gabriel has also been staying busy on tour in support of the 'Lovework' album, working with youth in South Seattle & doing whatever he can to help other artists get their voices heard while recording the future classics right out of his home.

Instrumentation

Gabriel Teodros - Lead Vocals, MC
WD4D - DJ, Drum Machine, Turntables

Discography

ALBUMS:

Air 2 A Bird "Crow Hill" (independent, 2010)

Gabriel Teodros "Lovework" (MassLine, 2007)

Gabriel Teodros "Westlake: Class of 1999" (independent, 2006)

Abyssinian Creole "Sexy Beast" (MADK/Pangea, 2005)

Gabriel Teodros "Sun To A Recycled Soul" (independent, 2001)


EP'S:

Gabriel Teodros & DJ Ian Head "The Lentil Soup EP" (Everyday Beats, 2011)

Gabriel Teodros "No Label" (MassLine, 2007)

Abyssinian Creole "Sexy Beast" (MADK/Pangea, 2005)


MIXTAPES:

Gabriel Teodros "GT's Ethiopium: A Jitter Generation Mixtape" (independent, 2009)


SINGLES:

The LivinYard "Summer's Here / Society Of Summer" (independent, 2009)

Gabriel Teodros "Me & You" featuring Silver Shadow D (independent, 2009)

DJ Ian Head "Sippin Coffee / Nightsky" with Abyssinian Creole, Opoetik & Evolve-One (Everyday Beats, 2008)


GUEST APPEARANCES:

Danny Beat "Sinergia" (Quilombo Arte, 2011)
"Sangre Nueva" - Bocafloja & Gabriel Teodros

Sabreena Da Witch "A Woman Under The Influence" (SabreenaNow.com, 2010)
"Beit / Home" featuring Gabriel Teodros

Various Artists "47N122W35N139E: Reunion On The I-5" (Vuestro Record/Shamrock, 2010)
"Pop Star Is Dead" - Gabriel Teodros
"Still Stay Fly" - Khingz, Gabriel Teodros, SistaHailStorm, Daichi Diez

Canary Sing "Boss Ladies: A Mixtape" (independent, 2010)
"Raindrops" - Hollis Wong-Wear, Gabriel Teodros, Slay, Chev & One.Two
"Forward" - Madlines the Lioness, Gabriel Teodros, Rajnii & La

Suntonio Bandanaz "Who Is Suntonio Bandanaz!?!" (Fresh Chopped Beats/MADK, 2009)
"Meditate" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Khingz

Khingz "Cold-Hearted In Cloud City" (Fresh Chopped Beats/MADK, 2009)
"A Partay" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Nam

Big World Breaks "4 Those Lost..." (independent, 2009)
"Emerald City Step" featuring Yirim Seck, Khingz, B-Flat, Gabriel Teodros, okanomodé

Khingz "From Slaveships To Spaceships" (Fresh Chopped Beats/MADK, 2009)
"Boi Caimen at Adwa" featuring Gabriel Teodros

Dollabin "Styles You Can't Afford" (Everyday Beats, 2009)
"Dreamz" featuring Gabriel Teodros

The Kafa Beanz "Andromeda: The Chronicles of Blackopia, Volume 1" (Burntface Media, 2008)
"Tizita" - Gabriel Teodros featuring B Sheba
"Hope" - Burntface, B Sheba, Hermela Mulatu, Gabriel Teodros

DJ Ian Head "Pieces" (Root70 Lounge, 2008)
"Sippin Coffee" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Khingz

Nam "Exhale" (independent, 2008)
"Ghetto" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Toni Hill

DJ T-Bone Steak "The Other Side Of The Moon" (DMR, 2006)
"Stay Fly" - Abyssinian Creole, SistaHailStorm, Seiji

Common Market "Common Market" (MassLine, 2006)
"Every Last One (Cornerstone Remix)" featuring Geologic & Gabriel Teodros

Macklemore "The Language Of My World" (independent, 2005)
"Claiming The City" featuring Abyssinian Creole

ORB & So-Called Musicians "Dirty Scientifix" (independent, 2005)
"Meet Me 1/2 Way" featuring Abyssinian Creole, Castro, SistaHailStorm

Moka Only "Flood" (Battle Axe Records, 2002)
"Liquid Sunshine" featuring Gabriel Teodros

Links

• MySpace
• Official Website
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Bandcamp
• Air 2 A Bird

Audio

• No Label
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• Beautiful (GT Version)
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• Warriors (Lovework Reprise)
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• Chili Sauce
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• East Africa
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• Tizita
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• Sexcapism
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• In This Together
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• Sippin Coffee with Khingz & DJ Ian Head
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Video

Third World Wide

Photo Gallery

Press

• Review [+ Show ]
  

  Gabriel Teodros, a twenty-eight year old native of Seattle, is a rapper-activist who bares his soul ...Gabriel Teodros, a twenty-eight year old native of Seattle, is a rapper-activist who bares his soul in Lovework, his intensely personal 2007 solo debut. Spurred by a love for hiphop and community (as the title track explains, “If it wasn’t love, I wouldn’t try to work this”) Gabriel’s soft spoken, slightly gravelly voice rides over Amos Miller's sparse arrangements of keyboard-oriented beats. Laidback and keenly intelligent, Gabriel’s flow makes the most out of every line. His candidness befriends listeners, as if by paying attention, they're reading pages from his diary. And what a diary. Lovework critiques a wide range of social issues (racial discrimination, globalization, inner city violence, materialism, sexism, homophobia--whoa), without sacrificing quality, or a sense of the very personal. “Beautiful”, one of the first tracks of the album, outlines Gabriel's journey from awkward teenager ("short, lightskinned, hella fat") to eventual self acceptance, confessing the ups and downs of a meaningful personal relationship. His details illuminate emotional insecurities so effectively, you can't help relating to his vulnerability. The chorus is inclusive ("this is for the ones who are scared, but want love too"), and he ends: “This is for the children, beautiful and brilliant, you are not a victim." The effect is not so much preachy as it is uplifting: "Take your vision back from this wicked ass system.”
  
  The son of an Ethiopian mother, Gabriel belongs to a generation of Ethiopians raised in Western immigrant communities, partly explaining his all-embracing approach to third world identity. “Third World Wide”, the album’s first single, forges solidarity with those who reject outright assimilation ("I just wont settle, for their money or their schools/I care about my life, more than American rules") to struggle against imperialism. In this sense, it’s obvious why Gabriel evokes the words “Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia” frequently and respectfully. “East Africa”, a passionate retelling of the unrest surrounding Ethiopia's 2005 elections, features this poignant line: “From the soil of Asmara/to Addis Ababa, I will always ride for you/study, work, rhyme for you/we are all born royal, it shows in your walk/Oromo to Anuak/Out here on the block, we’re scattered but not lost/Seattle where cash rules, Somali, they feel it too, may these words touch you.” It's an approach to East Africa that, among other things, respects identity while seeking common ground, making Lovework a most necessary musical conversation, in a genre too often parched for meaning.
  
  - by Hendeke Asrat

• From Ethiopia to Seattle - Hip Hop is Worldwide [+ Show ]
  

  When you talk about Hip Hop in the Emerald City (Seattle), you will lose all credibility if you don'...When you talk about Hip Hop in the Emerald City (Seattle), you will lose all credibility if you don't give props to Gabriel Teodros. This Ethiopian/Scottish/ Native American emcee is a fixture in the scene who has made his mark first as a member of the group 500 Years and later as a member of the group Abyssinian Creole. His solo album 'Lovework' is considered a masterpiece and one of the tightest albums to ever bless the city who's Hip Hop scene was once only defined by Sir Mix-A-Lot.
  
  During our interview Gabriel talked about the way his Ethiopian culture has influenced his music. He noted that his family did not approve of him rapping. They felt he was behaving like an 'outsider', but a conversation with his grandmother revealed that the Hip Hop and certain aspects within the oral tradition of East Africa were very similar.
  
  Gabriel explained that he has recently embarked upon a new project called Andromeda: The Chronicles of Blackopia, Volume 1 which has allowed him and fellow Ethiopian artists to further explore their cultural roots. He said he's been learning his native tongue and starting to flow over the rhythms most associated with East Africa. He also noted that it was important to break out of the 4 count beat matrix Hip Hop has been traditionally locked into..
  
  During our interview we talked about Gabriel's activism. He noted that nowadays it's hard to just be a rapper in Seattle. He revealed that everyone is part of an organization and involved within some sort of activism. Just being a rapper is not enough. Everyone expects more from you.
  
  He elaborated by talking about the his experiences during the infamous WTO (World Trade Organization) demonstrations-The Battle in Seattle and how Hip Hop although not often highlighted played a role. He talked about how people from his 500 Year Collective were among the first to get hit with tear gas and shot with rubber bullets. He noted that many folks were knee deep into the demonstrations and that it unveiled some ugly truths about this supposedly pristine and liberal city.
  
  He talked about the brutal nature of the police and how the WTO along with two highly publicized and suspect cases involving two Seattle Hip Hop icons DJ DV One and spoken word /artist /teacher Rajnii forever politicized Seattle's Hip Hop community. The case against DV One was especially chilling because it involved Seattle police man handling DV's young pre teen daughter and DV getting tasered and beat up by the police when he went to help. The police officers straight up lied on the stand and DV who was facing 5 years was found guilty. Although he didn't have to serve the time, this Hip Hop icon now has a police record and scars of an unprovoked beating and even harsher memories of the police hitting his little girl for not moving fast enough.
  
  With Rajnii he would up getting brutalized and arrested by Seattle police when he came upon one of his students being arrested for littering. He asked the cops if the parents had been notified after identifying himself as a teacher which unfortunately enraged the cops who came after him in front of his students. He was later found Not Guilty with prejudice, meaning the jury found the cops crossed the line, but those two incidents which happened back to back underscored the need for artists to also be activists.
  
  Gabriel concluded by talking about his albums including the the classic 'Lovework' and how its important for him to deliver compelling social and political messages.
  
  - by Davey D
  
  Listen to Breakdown FM Interview HERE:
  http://odeo.com/episodes/23149533-Interview-w-Gabriel-Teodros

• Horn Africa's Next Gen Men [+ Show ]
  

  “If we don’t write our own stories we’ll be written out of history…I feel like I was given a gift wi...“If we don’t write our own stories we’ll be written out of history…I feel like I was given a gift with my music and there’s a responsibility to keep it alive,” says Seattle-based emcee, Gabriel Teodros, on what drives him to write. “I need to, it’s the only thing I know . . . Even if I don’t continue chasing it as a profession I’ll still always make music.”
  
  Although born in the United States, Teodros’ roots run deep. The son of an Ethiopian mother and European/Native American father, his relationship with hip hop culture began at a young age within his south Seattle neighbourhood. Beacon Hill: a community of immigrants. A bright spot among the United States’ mainly white northwest, a patchwork of colours and ethnicities, languages and ways of being. This “part of Seattle you don’t hear about” was the cultural backdrop for much of the artist’s journey.
  
  “A lot of kids in my neighbourhood were affected by gang culture. And I kind of had a death wish. I felt like, at an early age, that I wasn’t going to live to 21,” says the 27 year-old. Although he has spent time in cities like Brooklyn and Vancouver, his time in Las Vegas may have been the most significant. As one out of approximately 30 students of colour in a predominantly white school in Las Vegas, something within him changed. “It was the first time I understood that there was system in place that wanted kids like me to want to die. And understanding that in high school made me want to live,” Teodros explains. The former breakdancer, graffiti writer and closet-emcee finally began to take his career path seriously at age 16, using hip hop to both understand and explain his world.
  
  In 2001 Teodros released his first solo LP, called Sun To A Recycled Soul. That same year, he formed Abyssinian Creole with fellow emcee, Khingz Makoma which released its first full length in 2005, called Sexy Beast.
  
  His latest offering, Lovework, is a manifestation of Teodros’ love - love for his community, love for his people and love for his art. A skillful blend of musicality, political consciousness and clever wordplay, Lovework has received solid reviews from various media sources. The album that has been described as a “stirring exercise in soulful hip hop from start to finish,” was released in 2007 and is available on many digital music outlets.
  
  “I feel like I get labeled a lot: conscious artist, artist activist. I don’t really feel like it’s an artist’s responsibility to go above and beyond,” says Teodros. “So if you ask me what an artist’s responsibility is, I’ll say it’s also just to make good music, just be themselves, to not imitate anyone else. And push their art and their music forward instead of being another clone for the radio - there’s too many of those.”
  
  There is a surprising frankness to Teodros as he tackles themes rarely explored by men. He says one of the biggest inspirations behind Lovework is the work of bell hooks. Like hooks, he challenges the racism and sexism imbedded in our social systems. With lines like “Many of these sisters that I highly look up to/they can’t get to doors that I easily walk through,” Teodros shows he’s real enough to challenge a system that benefits him to the detriment of others.
  
  “She did that book about black men and she was like ‘I’m doing this basically because there aren’t any black men that are writing books like this,’” he says about hooks . “I felt like it was a call to action, she inspired me that way.”
  
  Perhaps Teodros inherited his mother’s rebellious spirit. The woman he describes as “the strongest woman you would ever want to meet” was the first person in her family to immigrate to America, doing so for college. She eventually welcomed the other members of her family as the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea intensified. Even as a teenager in the early 70s she got a job as a machinist; woman enough to step into roles traditionally assigned to men.
  
  While his extended family has not always understood or agreed his path, Teodros says his mother has been one of his biggest supporters. Although she still lives in Las Vegas, she attended workshops and shows on a recent visit to see her son. “Ever since I showed any interest in it, she was like ‘do that, just chase your music. Everything else is not important… if you found something that makes you happy and you know that that’s what you want to do at an early age, go for it,’” he says.
  
  Along with music, Teodros runs hip hop centered workshops to provide a space for kids to use their own voice. About the East African youth in his community, he says, “I see a lot of ones younger than me who are growing up here who are still hella proud about where they come from.”
  
  “It’s all peace with our generation,” says Teodros about the relationship between the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities in south Seattle. “I’ve heard about people fighting and stuff but I don’t really understand it out here. For the most part, everyone’s like, ‘we should be cool.’”
  
  At this point Teodros, says the greatest desires he has for his people are peace and truth, but whether or not he gets the answers he seeks will be revealed with time. For now, Teodros will continue to challenge his audience, and himself, through his art.
  
  “I want my music to get off of CD and become something that’s living and breathing…something that’s not a repetitive loop, something that’s not the same old shit. I want to push myself always creatively to inspire.”
  
  - by Alison Isaac

• Next 100 [+ Show ]
  

  The Northwest Territory continues to surprise us with its deep stables of hip-hop talent, and Seattl...The Northwest Territory continues to surprise us with its deep stables of hip-hop talent, and Seattle-reared rapper Gabriel Teodros is the perfect supersonically skilled example. The second-generation-Ethiopian's first major proper, Lovework, is a stirring exercise in soulful hip-hop from start to finish, and his rails against sexism and homophobia plus post-Afrocentric lyricism will make him easily classifiable in the "conscious" movement. But Teodros seems more intent on reppin' the region and its multifarious sounds: "Seattle, Portland, Vancouver. I feel like people are really about to take notice in the next one or two years." Some of us already have.
  
  -- Kevin Polowy

• Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  "We rock shows/mostly white folks come out," acknowledges twenty-six-year-old Gabriel Teodros toward..."We rock shows/mostly white folks come out," acknowledges twenty-six-year-old Gabriel Teodros toward the end of his solo debut. It's a typical ploy for the Seattle rapper, at once situating him in the underground and, by its candor, raising him a little above it. Teodros pumps a quiet flow over producer Amos Miller's keyboard-based beats -- think Toronto's K-Os, only deeper and more swinging. He's conscious, diligently pro-woman, even slipping into the lamentably uncolloquial word cluster "greed, homophobia and sexism" (he's against 'em). But because he's the son of an Ethiopian immigrant, his Afrocentric politics take on a compelling extra measure of knowledge and entitlement -- especially on the geopolitically detailed "East Africa" and the respectfully un-Rastafarian "In This Together." Teodros has brains, musicality and a refreshing attitude. It's such a relief to encounter an alt-rapper who never once whines about his anxiety or wallows in his disempowerment.
  
  ROBERT CHRISTGAU

• Review [+ Show ]
  

  Gabriel Teodros lets his heart bleed on his solo album, Lovework. He delivers a number of powerful m...Gabriel Teodros lets his heart bleed on his solo album, Lovework. He delivers a number of powerful messages here, and out of all the albums I have reviewed thus far, I consider this the most important because of the level of social consciousness packed in.
  
  East Africa. Gabriel Teodros lives in Seattle, Washington, but draws so much from his family's homeland of Ethiopia. Teodros says on this album that his words are for East Africa's peace. And with that said, how can one criticize this album? He even has a song called, "East Africa" where he cries for the plight of his people. His words are saddening when he raps about his cousin's educational obstacles, the violence towards journalists, and the colonized minds of his people. And dude can flow, so it makes the album-listening a rewarding experience. Many emcees pretend to be socially conscious because it is "liberal-cool," but lack the knowledge. Teodros spends an album discussing his hatred towards a society that first misunderstood and has now forgotten Africa. One of the most powerful songs on this album is "In This Together." This is where he lets his people know of his commitment to their struggle and he does not hold back as he jabs at a manipulated history by saying in the refrain sarcastically, "They say Ethiopia is not colonized..." His words fit well with the guitar melody providing an inspirational sound that has whispers of Bob Marley's music.
  
  I refuse to highlight any more tracks because I believe that this album should be listened to in its entirety. That is the least someone can do when an artists is creating so others can be free.
  
  4 ?heads.
  
  - David Ross

• Review [+ Show ]
  

  Born in Ethiopia and raised in Seattle, Washington, emcee Gabriel Teodros brings a litany of intern... Born in Ethiopia and raised in Seattle, Washington, emcee Gabriel Teodros brings a litany of international influences and concerns to his music--so many it seems that an attempt to address all he's chosen to speak on would make for a weighty, pedantic record. Gratefully, Teodros is possessed of skill beyond his years and a refreshing lack of self-importance that is the bane of so-called "conscious" or "message-minded" hip-hop.
  
  First coming to attention as half of the Northwest U.S.-based duo Abyssinian Creole (and releasing a six-song EP in 2005), Teodros has honed his craft since the mid-1990s, as evidenced by the approach to his subject matter and immensely talented group of performers. Lovework was produced largely by keyboardist Amos Miller, and Teodros' breathy, intense, low-voiced delivery rides, sails and torpedoes through a sea of burbling jazz keyboards, fuzz guitar, underwater bass and rattling snare hits. Most MCs would be well-advised to leave their friends home when recording an album; Teodros proves the exception to this rule, bringing a bunch of his own friends along for the ride, including his rhyme partner, Khings Makhoma, Seattle underground star Toni Hill ("Don't Cry For Us," "Lovework Reprise") and numerous others who provide absolutely gorgeous backing vocal arrangements. Clear-eyed about the consequences of his displacement as a child of the post-colonial world, Teodros produces lyricism that comes off as a pleading and imploring friend from around the way as opposed to the typical more-revolutionary-than-thou shtick. Young and romantic and imbued with the spirit of possibility, Lovework is the soul of an old man.
  
  - Juba Kalamka

• Categorize This [+ Show ]
  

  Where does a left-wing feminist fit in a world of guns, drugs, and thugs? By Jonah Flicker Sea...Where does a left-wing feminist fit in a world of guns, drugs, and thugs?
  
  By Jonah Flicker
  
  Seattle MC Gabriel Teodros' serene voice lights up when asked about the state of Northwest hip-hop. "There's no other scene like it," he effuses, and this South Seattle native certainly has the musical résumé to back this statement up. After moving to Las Vegas during his high-school years, he returned to Seattle in 1999, forming Abyssinian Creole with partner Khalil Crisis. The group still exists, but these days Teodros has been very busy working on his new solo effort, Lovework.
  
  The biracial rapper struggled to find his cultural and political identity while growing up. His father, a "Marxist communist who doesn't believe God exists," is white. His mother, a born-again Christian, is Ethiopian. "I was the lightest-skinned person [on the Ethiopian side of] my family," he recalls. "I had to make up my own mind at an early age of who I was gonna be." But as a teenager, he found the answer to his struggle for identification in hip-hop. "For a long time, if you asked me what race I was...I would say hip-hop before anything else, just to be difficult. But also because I felt like that was the only community that fully embraced who I was. It's through hip-hop that I got back to embracing...who I am culturally. It came full circle in my life."
  
  On Lovework, Teodros ponders issues of racism, sexism, and colonialism, as well as lighter topics like romance and the art of rhyme, over the silky, jazzy beats of producer Amos Miller. The record is a unified effort, tied together by Miller's production and Teodros' swift wordplay. "I feel like it captured a moment, which is all I was intending to do," he says, describing the recording process. "That's all I really try to do with music, take a little photograph."
  
  Teodros' musical snapshots cover a wide array of both the political and personal. "Raccoon Rock," a collaboration with MC/vocalist Toni Hill, is an introspective look at the issues of sexism and domestic abuse, but it never feels heavy-handed, as the pair's obvious pleasure in working together comes through even while dealing with such serious topics. "Everything is political," says Teodros, "but I try to give you a window into my own world instead of just putting out a message that doesn't have an identity to it. So-called political rappers talk about issues without ever letting you know who they are. I wanna know who's talking to me."
  
  And we do indeed get to know him over the course of Lovework. "No Label," a collaboration with longtime friend Moka Only, is another smooth banger on which Teodros clearly states that he won't and can't be pegged into any category, even if people tend to lump him into the "conscious rap" genre. But pigeonholing doesn't sit very well with him. "I miss the days of hip-hop when those categories didn't exist," he reminisces. "I come from the same neighborhood, the same background as all the so-called hood rappers or gangsta rappers. I feel like they're conscious rappers, too, the ones that are actually speaking about their lives and not imitating what they think people want to hear. They're doing what Chuck D said: street reportage, which is what I do. I never had guns, though, so I can't talk about that. I have to talk about what I went through."
  
  "Hip-hop macho bravado ego/Battles, guns, drugs, thugs and not really much more/My people, what's going on?/Tell me where we went wrong," rhymes Teodros on the standout track, "Chili Sauce" (one of his favorites). "I don't feel too positive about any mainstream hip-hop that's being put out there right now," he explains. "Everyone's imitating each other.... That is true for underground hip-hop as well."
  
  But this MC sees the local scene as an answer to the fakers, capable of creating its own supportive community. "It is happening...with the label I'm working on, Massline. We sold out the Showbox for our label launch. That's the first time that's happened since Sir-Mix-a-Lot, back in the day. It's big for Seattle." And Teodros' Lovework is a positive, innovative link in his hometown's musical chain. "Every day people are supporting homegrown hip-hop. Seattle has had the talent for years to stand out from the rest as its own scene with its own unique sound."

• Love That's It [+ Show ]
  

  It's no secret that I love the Roots, but can they please stop slanging around the label "revolution...It's no secret that I love the Roots, but can they please stop slanging around the label "revolutionary" like it's a Madlib-Kweli download on Myspace already? And can we start off 2007 by encouraging folks to stop applying this label to themselves? Humility is allowing your music to relevently exist long enough to have other people notice this, and in the spirit of No Label(s), Mister Gabriel Teodros, is more an example of the latter than the former.
  
  After years of CD-R with a Sharpie copies of his music disseminated through friends and selling vinyl out of his backpack, LOVEWORK is here! This beauty-full collection of songs honestly discusses (not just cryptically shouts out) homophobia ("queer folks and hip hop", his personal "love of punk rock") and sexism ("what hurts a woman is what's hurting us all"), responsibility and potential of the art ("I know I got vision with enough sense to listen"), headraps and incense as just another gimmick not to be caught up in, and mixed race politics (disappearing dads and the reality of America's melting pot). He doesn't come across as preachy, just complex. He's not a pariah, but a survivor, vulnerable and necessary because he's speaking the truth and he doesn't have to remind us that he's doing it.
  
  It's fitting that he opens with the hommage Sacred Texts because the whole album could be read as that of his life. Anyone who meets him will recognize his frequent use of "hella" as adjective and proclamations of "eat food" as quoted verbatim of his actual vernacular. His talk of feeling alienation from main acts (No Label) is understood by any hip hopper who felt funny about shows like The Beastie Boys' when Tribe was the opening act. The heart of a man and his reflection on self-image is felt through lyrics like, "I remember when my best friend was Treach" on the GT version of Beautiful, but I'ma cosign with the Abysinnian Creole version and state that "I can see God moving through you" nonetheless, though "they say I'm a hater because of who I love" as well.
  
  His Jesus Piece is a meditation on missionaries imposing religion for medicine and how he reconciles the fact that "a White Jesus still hangs on (his) Grandma's mantelpiece". He can be seen as neo-Garvey, urging Back to Africa as something to do alongside "those who rep red, yellow, green hella harder than me". His is a message of unity, not divide and conquer based on melanin membership, and rounds out In This Together with the inspiring rally cry of "we may not have come in chains but (we're) still enslaved in the mind, we're in this together so your beef is mine".
  
  He reminds those that pack that, "these guns were placed in our hands by the same fools that called us n**ga" and also that "schools and prisons are the same damn industry", encouraging awareness to the institutionalized profits reaped by the war machine and the ways that we are all touched by the universal arms trade on tracks Third World and It's That.
  
  There are a few songs that are a tad repetitive, and a few flows that are not as spirited, but that's only in comparison to the rest of the album chock-full of beats and rhymes of simple complexity and proof that reminds us that there is always work to do, as love is a work in progress. When one commits to making the "music with higher stakes, refusing to assimilate", he can only be found at the "home where the true love is, and home is where the hip hop is". Oh snap, I guess you gotta cop the mixtape ( www.myspace.com/gabrielteodros) to fully get that.
  
  The good news is that it also features the timeless track Chocolatey Undertones featuring a spry-sounding Belladonna and the other half of Abyssinian Creole, Khingz Makoma (amongst other stars). Happy New Year of the Lovers, y'all, let's get to work.
  
  
  Rating: 4.5
  Review by: Angelica LeMinh

• Review [+ Show ]
  

  Now this is a real album-none of that ten-track shit that has you wondering whether or not it's a CD...Now this is a real album-none of that ten-track shit that has you wondering whether or not it's a CD sampler. This is something deeper. This is why they still cipher in circles on the corner. This album proves that hip-hop does not have to be New-York centric to be authentic. And yet, who could have known that the Northwest (of all places) would have such a passionate hip-hop scene?
  
  Hailing from rainy Seattle, Washington, by way of the Motherland (Ethiopia), Gabriel Teodros brings his international stroke of genius to the underground hip-hop scene. Taking a break from his usual position as the group Abyssinian Creole's other half, Teodros is all set to drop his solo masterpiece, Lovework (to be released in early 2007).
  
  If having performed alongside artists such as KRS-One, Digible Planets, and GZA gives any indication as to what should be expected from Teodros, then you will be pleasantly satisfied. Because this is not your ordinary underground conscious hip-hop artist-turns to Louis Vinton don urban story; Teodros' perspective keeps him grounded such that his music is much more poignant than enlightenment from blood diamonds.
  
  Lovework features themes varying between the contrasting struggle of a first-generation immigrant and a rapper to the familiar sentiment of loveless sex. The production is a little under-done; however, there are some precious gems in this bunch. "Sacred Text," for example, presents Teodros' relationship with his music through lyrics such as "My headphones, then, was my only company. I was awkward socially, never fit into a peer group imagine growing up with only music that would hear you. . what else would I do, yall, if I didn't write?" Classic. "Beautiful" and "Lovework," can be appreciated for their distinctive melodies and captivating lyrics; both tracks are simple and soothing, lounge-worthy songs.
  
  "Sexcapism", in my opinion, is one of the best tracks that this album has to offer; what starts off feeling like a tight cipher develops into a heart-torn love song, with a message to the fellas. This one got me: "The best love I was ever in was a friend first, its still hurts, but she's happy when I see her so its for the best I guess, I've got lessons to invest, too. What you love you've got to let it go and grow, too. Even though you want to hold the one that holds you. Sometimes its better for someone that doesn't know you cause you pick the one that doesn't deserve you. I try to fill the emptiness as it gets deeper, they don't know me they just love what's in their speakers, why we scared of women that could be our teachers? Its just the freak in me? Or is it self-pity?" Lyrics such as this leave me speechless, making it hard to find fault in Teodros' approach.
  
  Midway through the album's seventeen tracks, songs like "Racoon Rock," "East Afrika," and "Find A Place" are like hip-hop variations of "Heal the World" as he bemoans about his lost cultural heritage and the unity that bonds us through various global crises. Other tracks such as "No Label" and "Do U" are album fillers and could have been done without.
  
  My only real critique of this album is that Teodros doesn't explore a full range of emotions. His voice is often flat, his passion hidden, and his demeanor even-tempered, which is unbelievable given the topics that he tackles in his ciphers. While this speaks volumes of his humility as an artist to his craft, it overshadows the complexity of his music.
  
  Despite all this, its really hard to shit on an album that is so personal and so genuine. Teodros has already captivated an entire myspace community, and this album is going to put him on the map. I'm just going to sit back and wait for his feature on VH1 Soul.
  
  
  Rating: 4/5
  Written by Nyasha Foy

Setlist

Set lengths range from 20 - 90 minutes, depending on the situation.
Set lists can include any combination of selections from the discography, plus unreleased songs + improvisation.

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