Teshay Makeda is an emerging artist creating soulful reggae. With pinches of funk, R&B, and pop, the South London artist uses each genre as influence. Coming from Jamaican and St. Vincent heritage, Teshay prides herself on the cultures she’s been exposed to, treasuring each place while helping her discover her own sound. We spoke with Teshay Makeda about the importance of exploring her identity within her music, how representation is key, feminism, and more.
SOFAR: CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?
Teshay: I would describe my sound as roots and soul through the lens of the divine feminism
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS AS YOUR DEFINITIVE SOUND?
It was something that happened naturally. Reggae music is my roots, I come from a rasta background and from the Caribbean. Also, being a Black girl growing up in south London, you’re exposed to R&B, soul, lots of different music. I remember, I did a show, and the person that designed the flyer put, “Empress of roots and soul.” I remember thinking the penny had just dropped, because that’s what I’m doing. I didn’t have the words to describe my music, because I don’t like labels, but I thought that really encapsulated the sound.
DO YOU FEEL YOUR ETHNICITY AND HERITAGE COMES INTO PLAY WITH YOUR WORK?
Yeah, my heritage comes through my music. People do call my music reggae, and I think it’s an honour to be a part of that legacy. Having my roots and my culture and my story represented within my music is important to me, because it’s legacy work to me. Growing up in south London, and being influenced by Black British culture, growing up on ‘90s R&B and neo-soul like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Alicia Keys— those influences have also helped develop my vocal style on top of those roots and beats and rhythms. Seeing people that look like me, brings that gravitational pull. I also grew up around a lot of pop music, which I still like. I loved that journey.
YOU RECENTLY PLAYED A HEADLINING SHOW AT BRIXTON JAMM, HOW WAS THAT?
I’m getting emotional thinking about it. How much work we put in to make that happen… I’ve been on a journey, where I’ve been growing my relationship with my purpose and with God. I’m trying to step into the works of wellness through spiritual healing. For me, music is my spiritual healer, it’s there to unlock people. To tap into their truth and purpose. Music can shift your vibrations within seconds. With this headline show, it was a root, soul live experience. I wanted to bring this in, we opened with a drum instrumental of all-Black women. In my culture, and through growing up, women weren’t allowed to play drums, so it’s really important to show that we can and to celebrate that. We also had sound healing, from the amazing sistah called Tia Sunlight, who works with crystal bowls, and koshi chimes. It was a meditation at a show! I came on later and gave my spiritual music and performed a segment of the sound healing that I do which is voice activation. I use my voice to tap into the energy of the space and clear things through my voice. Showing that to my audience was something I’d never done before, but I’m so glad I pushed myself to do it, because it was an experience where I got to welcome them into my world.
SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK. ON TWITTER, YOUR BIO READS, “WELCOME TO MY SACRED SPACE.” WHAT, OR WHERE, ARE SOME OF YOUR SACRED SPACES?
I find there can be a lot of noise on social media, I really wanted to be intentional on what my space is, so that, when people enter this space, they know that everyone is welcome. I found it really important to create this safe space in my online world. There have been people who have dropped out of my space, because it doesn’t align with them. Having safe and sacred spaces is a beautiful protection,that’s my sanctuary. I think negativity is a part of our experiences too, I see all parts are welcome in my sacred space. It’s a part of the human experience, not everything is sunshine, and roses and I think it’s normal to vocalise that. There’s a lot of pressure towards toxic positivity— things aren’t always great, and that’s okay because that is life.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO WORK WITH BLACK PEOPLE AND WOMEN ACROSS YOUR MUSIC?
I think it’s important to be seen and celebrated. A lot of things, especially within the music industry, can be whitewashed. When you travel around Europe and experience all the different types of reggae festivals, there’s a very obvious deep appreciation for the music, but it’s not being represented in the way that I represent it—which is from my ancestry. Being third generation rasta, I think it’s important for us to be seen and celebrated so young Black kids can feel like they can do it too. Also, abundance, for me. To be able to share wealth with my brothers and sisters. Keeping that money within our community is important to me, because economically, we’re one of the biggest consumers on the planet, yet we have no money collectively. To be able to support each other in this way is important. I work with people with all different types of heritage, but what’s nice is I don’t have to explain myself with my team. Sometimes the men, but even still the men I work with really honour feminism.
WHAT’S NEXT?
What’s next for me is really giving to myself, I pour out and give so much. I’m going to be taking some time to write and really tap into expressing what I want to say. New music is definitely on its way, getting back into the studio.. Whatever comes from that experience I know it’s going to be magical.
Words by Laviea Thomas
Photo credit: Teshay Makeda, photo by Badass Noodles
