Endorphin
Bath & Todd E. Jones presents...
Interview: GABRIEL TEODROS
“Gabriel
Teodros Loves His Work”
An Interview with
Gabriel Teodros (of Abyssinian Creole)
( JAN 2007 )
Interview
by Todd E. Jones aka The New Jeru Poet
toddejones@yahoo.com
Gabriel
Teodros of Abyssinian Creole has proved to the world that you can work
doing what you love and love your work. Even though Gabriel is an
artist, he is speaking to and for the ones who are struggling to
survive.
Gabriel Teodros is ½ of the duo, Abyssinian
Creole. The emcees of the group, Khingz Makoma and Gabriel Teodros met
in Seattle. An unlikely hip-hop breeding ground, Seattle has been home
to other artists like Oldominion and Boom Bap Project. Released in
2005, Abyssinian Creole’s debut album, "Sexy Beast" earned them
critical acclaim.
As a solo artist, Gabriel Teodros has released,
“Lovework” (on Massline Media). A majority of the production of
“Lovework” is handled by Amos Miller, but Moka Only, Specs-One, and
Kitone produce some tracks too.
The words “work” and “love” are rarely used
together. When a human being loves their work, they a truly lucky.
Their productivity and final results are woven with pride and care. The
work of Gabriel Teodros is hip-hop and he loves his work.
TODD
E. JONES:
“What goes on?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “What it
gwan?”
TODD E. JONES: “The new Gabriel Teodros album, ‘Lovework’ was just
released on Massline Media. Tell us about the album.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “‘Lovework’.
It was a moment that got captured between February & May of 2006.
Amos Miller and myself, just doing music because it was medicine for
our spirits. To start, I got to take you back to what we were doing the
fall and winter of ’05. Khingz Makoma and myself had just
released the first Abyssinian Creole LP. ‘Sexy Beast’. We were able to do
some shows as Ab Creole, but it was hard because we never had a plan of
how we were going to push our album. Our plan was more like ‘Hey, we got an album!’. Khingz was
living in the bay area, so a lot of show opportunities were missed.
Soon after the release of the album, my father was doing a roofing job.
Something happened with the ladder and he fell 2 stories, fracturing
his spine in 4 places. So for a couple months, my life stopped. In the
time I should have been working on a solo record and really pushing the
Ab Creole project, I was doing everything I could to take care of him
and looking out for my Grandma as well. Family drama. I also had homies
overcoming addictions that needed support. Long story short, there was
a good half a year there where I wasn’t making music. For a minute, it
didn’t seem like I ever would again. Meanwhile, Amos Miller was
going through the worst of it as well. My guy has been making beats for
10+ years and spends all his days working with youth in the Seattle
Public School system, doing creative writing workshops, recording
albums with his students and just helping them find their voice and get
it out there. Along with all his collabs with the vets of our scene,
somebody came in this man’s house and stole all his equipment. Plus
most of the files for projects he was working on at the time, got
jacked too. So, basically, we both entered 2006 feeling low. A brother
named Lawrence Norman, who was familiar with what Amos had been doing
in the town, heard about what happened and decided to help out.
Lawrence owns an amazing studio and an indie label in Seattle. He
basically gave Amos a key to the studio and said, ‘Make music’. Now up to this point,
me & Amos knew each other but had never worked together. Amos was
in this new pace, able to create whatever he wanted, but everything was
brand new since files had been stolen, albums were lost. A mutual
friend brought us together. Amos wanted to do a series of 12” singles
and I guess I was the first person he reached out to that came through.
After the feeling we got from the first song we did together, we knew
there was chemistry and a full-length album needed to happen.
Everything we put into that music, was a healing process, I think for
both of us. I can say it was the most intentional album I ever worked
on, the most revealing. I feel like it really captured some personal
transformation, having nothing and then suddenly given a space to do
what you feel and just say whatever you want. That’s the moment we were
in, Spring of ’06 in the 206.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is the meaning behind the title, ‘Lovework’?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I realized the music I’ve always been drawn to,
is music that makes you feel loved. Whether it’s Curtis
Mayfield’s ‘Makings Of You’ or
Mystic’s ‘Cuts For Luck & Scars
For Freedom’, the sad thing is most of the songs out now that
are supposed to be about love make you feel like shit. This is true for
music in many different genres and I think it has a lot to do with our
understanding of love. Even the word ‘love’ triggers so many
different responses and it’s hard to find a group that can even agree
on a definition for the word. So, I took some notes from bell hooks,
and I agree with her. We need to redefine ‘love’ to really know it, and
to really grow. One of my favorite quotes from Khalil Gibran says, ‘Work is love made visible’ the
title ‘Lovework’ reminds me
of all these things. Also, to know true love, I feel like we got a lot
of Work to do as a people, to undo every system of domination that
stops people from loving, and this was also a work created in Love, and
if I never get paid from it at least I love my work.”
TODD E. JONES: “Favorite song on the ‘Lovework’?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “‘Chili Sauce’. I sound like I’m singing in the
shower halfway through the song. That song got my personality in 2
minutes, better then anything else ever recorded. I might answer this
question differently every time someone asks.”
TODD E. JONES: “Which song took you the longest to do from conception
to completion? Why?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “’Beautiful’. There’s an Abyssinian Creole
version of this song, a Khingz version, and this is my version. I think
the verses in this song were written 2 years before everything else on
the album. It was inspired by a message someone left on my voicemail. I
wanted to record it for the longest time but never found the right beat
till Amos played me this one. Then, I came up with the chorus, the
bridge and recorded it right away. ‘Beautiful’, that’s actually the
only song on the album that I wrote with no beat in mind.”
TODD E. JONES: “What inspired the song, ‘Sexcapism’? Tell us about that
track.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “‘Sexcapism’, that was actually the first song
we did for this album. What inspired that track was a pattern of
unhealthy relationships I had gotten into, and my desire to break the
cycle. You got to acknowledge you have a problem, if your ever going to
do something about it, right? This song was an important part of
my growth and leaving the past there.”
TODD E. JONES: “Tell us about the collab with Moka Only. How did you
hook up with him? How was he different than other artists?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “That’s my cousin! We met in 2001, Victoria B.C.
and did a show together and afterwards, stayed up late drinking coffee
and playing each other music. At that point, I never heard his music,
and I didn’t even have anything out. He had just released a record
called ‘Road Life’. ‘Lime Green’ came out a little
later. Anyways, a week later, we were both back in Vancouver, which is
my second home, and the 2nd time we ever kicked it, we did a track
called ‘Liquid Sunshine’, which ended up coming out on his album,
‘Flood’. Ever since then, we’ve been family, not only did he produce
‘No Label’ for this album, he’s been a part of every record I’ve put
out. Working with him? It’s just natural. I will tell you Moka O is one
of the most prolific producers and emcees on the planet and his beats
these days? Classic.”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you do many overdubs while recording?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I usually just do one track of dubs. Some of
the songs on this album had more. Amos had me try a lot of things I
never did for this record.”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you use many first takes, or do you do multiple?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I usually like the first take. Could you tell?”
TODD E. JONES: “How did you meet the people in Abyssinian Creole
and eventually form the group?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I met Khingz in 1999. He was in a live band
called Maroon Colony, I was in a live band called 500 Years. We kept
getting booked for the same gigs and we started hanging out at
different community events around South Seattle. What really brought us
together though, was a group called Youth Undoing Institutionalized
Racism. We went to some trainings together and a trip to New Orleans.
You get to really know people in environments like this and we realized
there that we had a lot more in common than just dope music. The
concept of our group came from there. Abyssinia is for my peoples,
Creole is for his. Together, we represent a bridge from the oldest
African nation to the newest African tongue. I also met Kitone in 1999,
through his older brother. His beats were ridiculous back then and he
was still in middle school! Khingz moved to New York City in 2001, just
a little after we formed Ab Creole. I ended up moving to New York as
well, in late 2002. But right before I went to the airport, Kitone came
back in my life with a beat CD. When we heard these beats, we ended up
wanting to use every single beat he ever made. I moved back to Seattle
after only a few months. Soon after that, Khingz moved to Oakland,
where he would spend 2 more years. Whenever Khingz would come to visit
Seattle, whether it for a show or just to visit family, we would record
as many tracks as humanly possible. So the whole album was created, and
came out, while we were living in different cities.”
TODD E. JONES: “Will you work together again?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “We’re working together right now. This time, we
live on the same block. In fact, we just put out 2 mix-tapes.”
TODD E. JONES: “Besides the obvious difference (the number of people),
how is ‘Lovework’ different from the music of Abyssinian Creole?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “It’s also, obviously, a lot more personal, more
autobiographical, and just cause of the time, you could say it’s grown
up. There are still a few songs featuring Khingz and a track produced
by Kitone. The difference in production is probably what stands out the
most.”
TODD E. JONES: “How are the fans responding to this solo album?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Too early to say. The album isn’t being
released until February 27th, 2007! So far, the feedback has been
really positive though.”
TODD E. JONES: “Why did you choose your real name, Gabriel Teodros as
opposed to a pseudonym?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “You know, I could never think of a name that
was doper then what my mom blessed me with!”
TODD E. JONES: “When creating a track, do
you have a set theme or idea first or the music first?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Usually, it’s music first. I write to whatever
the beat is telling me. I still free-write as much as possible and
there are songs that get written with no beat. Sometimes, a beat gets
found for it later. I always have song ideas, I just never stick to the
script in my head when I hear music. It’s working through me.”
TODD E. JONES: “What was the recording process like for the new album?
How was it different from other times?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “It was dope, working with Amos made it
different because he was so involved during the whole recording
process. He was good at giving constructive feedback and suggesting
things I wouldn’t of thought of. Some of his ideas worked really well,
some didn’t. I just loved the group dynamic of working with him because
most producers will give you a beat and that’s it. I’ve engineered
myself a lot, but Amos was involved from production, to engineering, to
post-production. It was just a true collaboration.”
TODD E. JONES: “Musically, what else have you been working on?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I just put out a mix-tape called ‘Westlake: Class Of 1999’. It’s a
collection of songs recorded between 3 cities, pre-‘Lovework’. All original beats by
Moka Only, Kitone, Ian Head, EarDrumz, DJ T-Bone Steak, Khazm, Brotha
Thomas, DJ Moves, Jeff Spec & Sichuan. It’s got featured vocals
from Moka Only, Khingz, Manik, SistaHailStorm, Toni Hill, Belladonna,
Xololanxinxo, Rise & Shine, Ishkan, Jeff Spec, Ndidi Cascade and
hell of more people. In addition to that, Khingz just released his
mix-tape ‘Hillionaire Boys Club’.
We’re also working right now on this group project called Good
Medicine. That’s Geologic, Khingz, Macklemore and myself, a MassLine
mix-tape, and a few other things.”
TODD E. JONES: “What are some of your favorite drum machines /
samplers?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I’m strong believer in the theory, ‘It ain’t
what you got, but how you freak it.’ That being said, I don’t make too
many beats. I like whatever Moka, Amos, Kitone, Sabzi, Vitamin D, and
Specs-One have been using. And everything J Dilla ever used.”
TODD E. JONES: “On Guru’s ‘The Street Scriptures’ album, Talib Kweli
mentions that Pro-Tools made producers lazy. Do you agree?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Again, it all depends on how it’s being used.
Lazy-ass producers come with all kinds of equipment.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Around what time in your career did you start financially
surviving form music?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Oh, I’m not surviving from it now. In 2001,
when my first solo album came out, I was paying rent and eating food
just off CD sales and classroom workshops, but really it was those
schools that were making it possible. I’ve worked several odd jobs
since then and the last year, you could say I’ve been living off music.
But I’ve just been getting more in debt. Maybe I’ll have a better
answer for you next year, or another job.”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you think that success and credibility are mutually
exclusive?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I think if you love what you are doing, than
your already successful.”
TODD E. JONES: “What song / album are you most proud of?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “This whole ‘Lovework’
project is pretty cool.”
TODD E. JONES: “Who are some artists you would like to collaborate with
in the future?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “In addition to what we’re already working on,
I’d love to do a full-length album with Moka Only on production. I’d
like to see what would happen on tracks with K’Naan, Mystic, Medusa,
Native Guns, One Self, Xperience, Silent Lambs Project, Yirim Seck, and
Pep Love. Getting Abyssinian Creole and Of Mexican Descent on a track
together. We could call ourselves Of African Descent for that one
track.”
TODD E. JONES: “Who are some producers you would like to collaborate
with in the future?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Vitamin D, Specs-One, plus everybody I’m
already working with like Kitone, Moka, Amos, Sabzi, Budo, Eardrumz,
T-Bone Steak, Ian Head, Mr. Hill, and Sativa Green.”
TODD E. JONES: “How did you get the deal with Massline Media?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “We actually all started the label together,
Sabzi, Geologic, RA-Scion and myself, around the same time I was
working on ‘Lovework’ with
Amos. It seemed like a natural move to put the album out with MassLine.”
TODD E. JONES: “What LPs have you
been listening to in the last couple of days?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “K-Salaam’s ‘The
World Is Ours’, Khingz 'Hillionare
Boys Club' Mix-Tape, Bambu’s ‘.38
Revolver’ Mix-Tape, Moka Only’s 'Desired Effect', Skim’s 'For Every Tear', Curtis Mayfield’s
Live Album and Zap Mama’s 'Seven'.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is your favorite part of your live show?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “The part where Khingz starts a mosh-pit or the
song ‘Warriors’.”
TODD E. JONES: “How has your live show evolved?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “It’s gone through so many phases, from rocking
with the live band to doing spoken word theater kind of sets with no
music at all, to where we’re at now, 2 emcees and 1 DJ. We think more
about rock concerts than hip hop shows when we’re approaching our sets,
still focused on the message in our music. Freestyles are a real
important part of every show and I still roll by myself sometimes
depending on the place and time. Every show is a little different.”
TODD E.
JONES: “What do you think about U.S. and the Middle East?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “The U.S. needs to stop tripping and we here
within the U.S. need to seriously unplug our televisions and stop
buying newspapers that are feeding us distractions instead of what’s
really going on. Support independent media. Be your own media because
it’s been 3 years and the U.S. is still in Iraq? Over 650,000 lives
have been lost and we act like nothings happening. It’s sick.”
TODD E. JONES: “Abortion. Pro-choice or pro-life?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “See Digable Planets, ‘La Femme Fetal’.”
TODD E. JONES: “Euthanasia, for or against?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “At first I thought you were talking about my
home girl from Living Mechanizm. Man, I’m pro-choice.”
TODD E.
JONES: “What was the last incident of racism you experienced?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I don’t know. There are little things that
happen in Seattle everyday. It’s more subtle here because Seattle’s
supposed to be PC, but really everyone is just passive-aggressive. I
appreciate the more overt in your face kind of racism that happens in
New York. At least then I know who I’m talking to.”
TODD E. JONES: “You are a political minded emcee. With the myriad of
issues that we face these days, which are the top 3 that you think are
the priority?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “That’s a hard question and I can’t just give
you 3 issues. I will say look at who you are, where you are at, and how
your life is affected by shit that keeps us from being human. There are
different forms of oppression that all work together, that we are all
affected by, from race, gender to class. Just by living in this
country, we all benefit from oppression, the price we pay for our food
and clothes, people in the third world are being forced to make for
little to no money. So recognizing we got problems and seeing that a
little girl on the other side of the planet, who works her fingers to
the bone instead of going to school, is our problem too. And men?
Seeing that 1 in 4 women right here will be raped in their lifetime, is
our problem too. Seeing that all those lives lost in Iraq is our
problem too. Taking accountability, recognizing our privilege, and just
doing something about it. Starting at home. That’s real important.”
TODD E.
JONES: “What is your opinion on MySpace?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “It was cool for like a year or so. It
definitely helped me get my music out there and I didn’t have to spam
nobody. Stop copying and pasting messages, jerks! I was blessed to meet
some amazing people through there. I was in everyone’s top 8 for minute
just cause I signed on to that shit so early. I don’t think it’s going
to be around for too much longer though with Rupert-Murdoch now
controlling it and all the censorship and profiles being deleted. I
think it’s on its way out.”
TODD E. JONES: “Word association. When I say a name, you say the first
word that pops into your head. So, if I said, ‘Public Enemy’, you may
say ‘Revolution’ or ‘Chuck D’. Okay?”
TODD E. JONES: “Atmosphere.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Slugs everywhere.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Dead Prez.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “It’s bigger than hip hop.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Happy Mondays.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Who?”
TODD E.
JONES: “Kool Keith.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Mr. Hill.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Necro.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “That package you sent to the house wasn’t cool
homie.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Wu-Tang Clan.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Ain’t Nothin Ta F*ck With.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Eminem.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Slady Shim.”
TODD E.
JONES: “Public Enemy.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “On tour with X-Clan this week!”
TODD E.
JONES: “Little Brother.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “The Listening.”
TODD E. JONES: “Phife Dawg.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Is In The House.”
TODD E.
JONES: “MF Doom.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “MMmm… Food.”
TODD E. JONES: “De La Soul.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Is Dead.”
TODD E. JONES: “Serengeti.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “The plains?”
TODD E. JONES: “Spank Rock.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Is that a new genre? Like a slowed-down
speed metal?”
TODD E. JONES: “Curtis Mayfield.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Almost impossible to do.”
TODD E. JONES: “Billy Holiday.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Strange Fruit.”
TODD E. JONES: “Gil-Scott Heron.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Pieces Of A Man.”
TODD E. JONES: “George Bush.”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Is a dipsh*t.”
TODD E. JONES: “Who are your biggest influences?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “My mom, little cousins, everyone I ever made
music with. It’s a long list, like everyone I shouted out inside the
liner notes.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is the biggest lesson you have learned in your
career?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Follow your heart and not what anybody else
says or thinks about it. Practice is even more important then god-given
talent.”
TODD E. JONES: “These days, what is a typical day like for you?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I’m up too late, so I watch the sunrise and
then sleep for a few hours, wake-up, drink coffee, walk or ride the
bus, attend to whatever business the day calls for, whether it’s record
label stuff, recording or engineering people at my house,
internet stuff, promotional work, booking shows for people. I do the
programming for a radio show every week, sometimes two. I’m also
performing somewhere every week, the random workshops and school
appearances. There always seems to be somebody from out of town,
spending the night at my house too. I try to spend time with the homies
who keep me grounded and feeling like a regular person. Sometimes, I
flake and feelings get hurt. I drink more coffee. Sometimes, I eat
food. Before you know it, I’m up till the sun rises again.”
TODD E. JONES: “What are some major misconceptions do you think people
have of you?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “That I’m really serious.”
TODD E. JONES: “Did you get along with your parents? What do they think
about your music?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Yeah I get along with my parents. You really
get personal don’t you? I grew up at my mom’s house and really got to
know my father as an adult. My mother is one of the most supportive
people in my life. There have been times when her faith in me was
stronger then my faith in self. It’s really because of her love and
support that I’m still here, able to make music. My pops, what he
thinks about my music, is a mystery. He says sh*t like ‘Music is a
pipe-dream’. He’ll encourage me to work at a fast-food restaurant
before acknowledging that I’m already working full-time. I don’t know
if he knows I made up my mind before I even got to know him.”
TODD E. JONES: “When you pass away, would you like to be buried or
cremated?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I’ve never been asked that before.”
TODD E. JONES: “What would you want on your epitaph?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
That’s like asking me to decide on a tattoo. I know I want some, just
haven’t decided what to get yet.”
TODD E. JONES: “Are there any collaborations fans should look out for?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Good Medicine, Abyssinian Creole. More songs
with Blue Scholars & Common Market. There’s a feature on Moka
Only’s next album, ‘Vermilion’.
DJ T-Bone Steak’s project, out of Japan. Toni Hill’s solo project,
Khingz Makoma’s solo project, Amos Miller’s solo project, Manik
1derful’s solo project, Sista HailStorm’s album, and Macklemore’s
album. I’m probably forgetting a bunch.”
TODD E. JONES: “What’s next?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Trying to connect with all the East African
artists in the Diaspora. Go back to Africa, make hella music that feels
good, and help raise some kids, write a book or something. Who knows
what tomorrow will hold? Oh, and I’ll be on your block in 2007.”
TODD E. JONES: “Any final words?”
GABRIEL TEODROS: “Keep living.”