Above: Teddy Afro, pictured here at the Rosewater Hall in San
Jose, California, is scheduled to launch his 2010 American tour
Saturday night at the D.C. Armory. (Photo by D.J. Fitsum)
Washington City Paper
Posted by Steve Kiviat on Dec. 31, 2009
Teddy Afro, Ethiopia’s biggest pop star, will kick off his 2010 American tour Saturday night at the D.C. Armory. Afro, born Tewodros Kassahun, is known as Ethiopia’s Bob Marley, thanks to his occasionally sociopolitical lyrics and his frequent use of roots-reggae rhythms. Heralded throughout the Ethiopian diaspora since 2001, Afro is little-known in the Anglo music world—he is not even mentioned at allmusic.com—but he has received some media attention here in articles discussing his attitude toward his country’s government, as well as his recent jail time. Read more.
Video:Teddy Afro live concert (San Jose, California – 2007)
If you go:
Teddy Afro Live
Sat, Jan 2, 2010 07:00 PM
DC Armory, Washington, DC
I think that Teddy is a great singer and a great Ethiopian.
However what I don’t understand is why we stick our heroes with other people’s
names e.i. ” Ethiopia Bob Marley’ Ethiopian Mandella” etc. etc.
Can’t we have our own genuine “heroes” ? With all our glorious history of thousands of years do we have penury of hero’s in our own pwoplw?
You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. Bob Marley and Mandela are great symbols of historical significance. It is humbling when one of our Ethiopian heroes is already being compared to international figures like the legend Bob Marley. I personally think that Teddy has not yet achieved to be on par with Bob, but nonetheless I welcome the media’s flattery of our own Teddy Afro! Teddy Afro is the man!