Queen Majeeda
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Queen Majeeda

Jamaica, New York, United States | SELF

Jamaica, New York, United States | SELF
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"Queen Majeeda - CONSCIOUS"


Last issue I bemoaned the lack of new releases from women in reggae. Queen Majeeda’s Conscious (Heartbeat) is one of the best new works in years from either sex. A dub poet with a mission, she takes her rightful place alongside Mutabaruka and Linton Kwesi Johnson, and on tracks like “Gye Nyame” (Ashanti for “I fear no one but the creator”) and “Earth’s Rightful Ruler,” goes them one better. In a time when reggae has been used by sexist pigs and promoters of violence and weaponry, QM’s not-exactly-gentle voice rattles the walls and blasts the pirates who would turn their back on the music’s regal roots. Don’t think of this as sub-genre (dub poetry), because the musical styles included here vary from the spacey and sparse “Release De Chains” to the Nyahbingi riddim-driven “Our Creator.” The themes cut across politics and reality in tune after tune, and whether the concern is “Down In A Africa,” “On The Alert,” “Yankee Dollar” or the a cappella “Man and the Environment” this spunky Queen aims for the heart and mind. Kudos also to Heartbeat for printing the lyrics to these song-poems in the cd booklet so their full impact would not have been missed. This is reggae with roots in Africa, and the gripping, hypnotic rhythms of the words and music have an appeal that reaches around the world.

-- Chuck Foster - THE BEAT, VOL. 12 #5


"Queen Majeeda"

more interviews from Vents Magazine
jueves 23 de septiembre de 2010
Queen Majeeda


How did you started with all this??
I found myself writing songs at 15 and haven't stopped since then. I recorded my first CD Conscious which was released through Heartbeat Records. My second CD Our Glorious Past was just released August 17, 2010 and is available on my website www.queenmajeeda.com and at online stores.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
I really believe in equal rights and justice for all and that's the main message I wish to transmit - love and respect for each other, for the planet and all its inhabitants.

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
It depends on how it comes to me. Sometimes, I'll hear a melody with the words and write the song that way or sometimes just the chorus first comes to me and then I develop it from there. I usually just put pen to paper and write. Only one song so far was written when I was on the keyboard and that is Love You So Much (It Hurts).

Which is your music influences??
I am influenced by Bob Marley because I grew up listening to him but I also listen to other artistes in my genre and so they too influence me. I also love jazz horns and try to incorporate that in my music, so I've been influenced by jazz music too.

What plans do you have for the future??
I will be working on a video soon for Love You So Much (It Hurts) and another shortly after for Modern Day Slavery. I also plan on releasing another CD next year and right now I'm doing some performances. I would love to do a college tour - that's a plan I would definitely love to see materialize.

Which has been the funniest prank you have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
I really can't think of anything right now. Usually it's just focusing on the performance and meeting people after or doing interviews. Pranks usually come during rehearsals; nothing comes to mind right now though.

If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you and your band (If any) are, ¿Who would you send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
Honestly, I'd rather eat leaves and the inner bark of a tree to sustain me especially since I'm on a meatless diet. Whoever got stuck with me would be glad. If there were no trees I hate to think that I could even think of eating someone. I really don't know what would happen.

Which country you would love to play?
I would really love to play in South Africa - and India too.

With which bands you would love to share stage??
I would say Ziggy Marley, Morgan Heritage, Mathisyahu and India Arie to name a few.

Are you OK, with the direction the band is going actually?
I am quite happy with the direction my music is going right now. I feel more in control now that I'm able to release music through my website and through online stores.

Check out more of this artist by going to: http://www.queenmajeeda.com/
- Vents Magazine


"Queen Majeeda: Conscious"

Queen Majeeda's specialty is dub poetry, a form of reggae whose better known practitioners include Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mutabaruka. Dub poetry features politically charged lyrics chanted more than sung over a reggae bass groove written to support their flow. I can't think of a better way to have a poetry reading. Her lyrics touch on religious ... and third world political themes, with a feminist outlook quite rare in Jamaican music...." - Stay Free Magazine


"Queen Majeeda - Conscious"

Queen Majeeda has released her debut album Conscious on the Heartbeat Record Label (HB 90). All ten tracks reverberate the real life struggle against ignorance, intolerance, and injustice that we all encounter everyday. Joining the ranks of Linton Kwesi Johnson and Mutabaruka, Queen Majeeda’s stunning vocals and intelligent lyrics have placed her in the forefront of today’s reggae. “There can only be one solution/And that is to educate each other and cure the ignorance/And that of course will make the difference/We have to play our little part/And that will be a start/In securing what is left of this planet.” Check out this conscious sister! I recommend “Gye Nyame,” “Release De Chains” and “Man and The Environment.”

By Joan Allen
Issue 24 #2 - The Informer, Issue 24 #2


"Dub poet thrills students"


FALMOUTH, Trelawny – Dub poet, Queen Majeeda on a recent visit to the Falmouth All-Age School held grades 6 and 9 pupils spellbound during a rendition of poems on topics such as South Africa, slavery and the sliding dollar. However none of the topics held the attention of the students more than the topic of absent fathers.
Queen Majeeda was invited to the parish by Custos Rotulorum, Royland Barrett, and became interested in the town as a result of an article he wrote on the history of Falmouth. A senior teacher at the school, Mr. Robert Harding thanked the custos for attending the function and Queen Majeeda for her splendid performance. This was endorsed by the principal Talbert Golding.
- Jamaica Gleaner


"QUEEN MAJEEDA: Conscious"

Queen Majeeda: Conscious

…. While fingering the usual subjects (apartheid and the vestiges of colonialism), Majeeda’s immensely satisfying debut, Conscious (Heartbeat), teems with smart backing music and choruses. With colorful textures and new—and welcome—lyrical viewpoints (including a song about… “The Creator,” and “Man and the Environment”) calling to mind the informed verse of Mutabaruka, dub poetess Majeeda arrives on the male-dominated dancehall scene with her alluring skills and heightened sensibilities intact. All the more reason to hail the new Queen….

by Martin Keller - REQUEST


Discography

LP - Conscious
(1) Gye Nyame (2) Conscious (3) Oh Daddy (4) On De Alert (5) Our Creator (6) Earth Rightful Ruler (7) Release De Chains (8) Yankee Dollar (9) Down In A Africa (10) Man And The Environment

EP - Our Glorious Past
(1) Modern Day Slavery (2) Our Glorious Past (3) Despised and Rejected (4) There Is A Tomorrow (5) Love You So Much (It Hurts)

Photos

Bio

Queen Majeeda was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica. She started writing songs at the age of 15 and has since written poems, short stories and plays. Her work covers global political issues. The name Majeeda is West African and means “noble” or “glorious.” She attended Merl Grove High School and the University of the West Indies where she pursued courses in Small Business Management, Article Writing and Creative Writing.

Queen Majeeda released her first CD Conscious through the Massachusetts based company Heartbeat Records. She has performed her poetry in Jamaica and the United States of America, and was a nominee for the Jamaica Music Industry (JAMI) Award. Performing events include Reggae Sunsplash, Jamaica; Jamaica Council for Human Rights Concert, Jamaica; SOBs, New York; Nuyorican Poet’s Café, New York; Lotus Music Festival, Bloomington, IN; Indiana University, IN, and Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL. Her poems are included in the anthologies Utterances and Incantations: Women, Poetry and Dub (Sister Vision Press), and Voices, a poetry and fiction volume published by York College’s Literary Forum.

Majeeda holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations (2008) from City College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Her thesis is titled The Caribbean Court of Justice: How Important Is It to the Success of the CARICOM Single Market Economy? She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in Journalism, and minors in French and Spanish (2004) from York College of the City University of New York (CUNY).

She entered and won second place in the York College Foreign Language Poetry Contest in 2003 when she performed French poet and singer, Boris Vian’s Le Déserteur (The Deserter), an anti-war and anti-militarist song.

Majeeda also worked as a Journalist for the Queens Tribune in New York where she wrote mainly for the African-American newspaper, Southeast Queens Press. She also served as News Editor and Reporter for Pandora’s Box, the newspaper of York College. She received the Distinguished Achievement in Journalism Award from York College and shared the New York Press Association Award for News Reporting with her colleagues at the Queens Tribune.

Queen Majeeda is listed in Who’s Who in Jamaican Arts and Entertainment. She has performed with other poets including Lillian Allen, Mbala, Cherry Natural and Mutabaruka.