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Gabriel Teodros confronts controversial issues, like sexism and racism, on his debut solo album, Lovework. His northwestern flow over jazzy soul-full beats simulates positivity, which is seriously lacking in today’s music.
The album kicks off with two tracks that are dedicated to his passion and talent. Teodros takes you on a personal voyage through his musical past on “Do You.” “No Label” touches on a more universal theme about categorizing music; “but if we label this, just picture what we might miss.”
With conga drums and flute, no one can
ignore the African influences in “Beautiful.” The lyrics stress the
beauty found within and the strength needed to move on from an abusive
relationship.
In “Sexcapism,” Teodros confesses the difficulty in finding meaningful
intimacy as a musician; “I try to fill the emptiness as it gets deeper.
They don’t know me, they just love what’s in their speakers.”
His identity is disclosed in “East Afrika,” a ballad of the violence in
Ethiopia. The dark tone continues in “Don’t Cry For Us,” featuring
Khingz Makoma and background vocals of, the re-occurring, Toni Hill.
The romantic Latin guitar melody in “In This Together,” is reminiscent
of the sound of Immortal Technique, a friend and confidant of Teodros.
This track gathers and connects the problems of every culture.
“Warriors” is a tribute to show his genuine concern for mothers,
sisters, and daughters, featuring snippets from Lauryn Hill, Da Brat,
MC Lyte and other female emcees.
He raps, “I want to change what it means to be masculine and see
hip-hop grow to raise strong women.” Teodros pays respect to the
females who are usually dissed in urban culture.
Sixteen tracks deep, Lovework, is thorough from beginning to end.
Download: Entire album
To
purchase CDs, click on the cover art or title link. To legally
download, click on the iTunes logo. If you do not have iTunes, you can
download it here by clicking the "download iTunes" logo above.
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