Abyssinian Creole

Last updated
Abyssinian Creole
Origin Seattle, Washington, United States
Genres Hip hop, Northwest hip hop
Years active 2001 Present
MembersKhingz & Gabriel Teodros

Abyssinian Creole is a hip hop duo composed of Khingz and Gabriel Teodros. [1]

Contents

History

The MC's of Abyssinian Creole met each other in 1999. Khingz (who was then known as Khalil Crisis) was in a live band called Maroon Colony, and Gabriel Teodros was in a live band called 500 Years. The 2 groups began sharing bills together all over Seattle and the 2 MC's also began working with a community organization called Youth Undoing Institutionalized Racism. In 2001, YUIR sent them to a conference in New Orleans, and it was there that Teodros and Khingz saw how much they had in common outside of music. They formed the group Abyssinian Creole to both represent their peoples and the bridges between them. [2]

DJ WD4D and producer Kitone joined the group separately years later. [3]

In 2005 Abyssinian Creole released their first album, entitled Sexy Beast , [2] an album that gave expression to the post-1990s cosmopolitanism thriving in South Seattle. [4] The albums featured guests included Moka Only, Geologic of Blue Scholars and Macklemore. [1] What Sexy Beast made apparent was the diversity of Northwest hiphop: It can come from anywhere (East Africa, Haiti) and be about anything (love, immigration, meditation). [5]

In 2006, Good Medicine was formed: a four-person group composed of Abyssinian Creole, Macklemore and Geologic of Blue Scholars. Good Medicine have headlined a handful of shows in the Seattle area but have never released any music as a group. [6]

Abyssinian Creole has performed at the Under the Volcano Festival in North Vancouver, BC in 2003, [7] 2004 [8] and 2009. [9] They have also performed at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, WA in 2006, and in 2007 (with Good Medicine). [10] In 2008 Abyssinian Creole performed at the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival in Hartford, CT. [11] They have also performed alongside the likes of Black Star, [12] K'naan,. [13] Lyrics Born and The Coup. [14]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Guest appearances

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "My Philosophy" by Larry Mizell Jr. The Stranger. December 1, 2005.
  2. 1 2 Gabriel Teodros (of Abyssinian Creole) - interview by Todd E. Jones. Insomniac Magazine. December 19, 2006.
  3. "Gabriel Teodros - Biography" by Cyril Cordor. Allmusic.
  4. "Let 'Lovework' Rule" by Charles Mudede. The Stranger. February 27, 2007.
  5. "Up & Coming" by Charles Mudede. The Stranger. January 10, 2008.
  6. "Things are hopping for hip-hoppers Blue Scholars" by Tom Scanlon. The Seattle Times. January 19, 2007.
  7. Waterfront Stage. Under the Volcano 2003.
  8. Artists - Malcolm Lowry Stage. Under the Volcano 2004.
  9. Performers. Under the Volcano 2009.
  10. History Archived 2015-01-26 at the Wayback Machine . Bumbershoot.
  11. 2008 Archived 2013-11-20 at the Wayback Machine Trinity International Hip Hop Festival.
  12. "My Philosophy" by Larry Mizell Jr. The Stranger. November 1, 2011.
  13. "Last Night: K'naan, Gabriel Teodros, and Yze at Neumos" by Jonathan Cunningham Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine . Seattle Weekly. March 11, 2009.
  14. "Last Night: Lyrics Born, the Coup and Gabriel Teodros at Neumos" by Michael Alan Goldberg Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine . Seattle Weekly. March 4, 2007.
  15. "My Philosophy" by Larry Mizell, Jr. The Stranger. February 3, 2005
  16. Macklemore - The Language Of My World. Discogs
  17. Review by Robert Christgau. Rolling Stone. March 22, 2007.
  18. "Khingz: Time to Share the Wealth" by Jonathan Cunningham. Seattle Weekly. June 16, 2009.
  19. "CD Review: Big World Breaks' 4 Those Lost" by Jonathan Cunningham. Seattle Weekly. July 21, 2009.
  20. "Seattle's New Summertime Hip-Hop Group" by Jonathan Cunningham Archived 2014-05-20 at the Wayback Machine . Seattle Weekly. August 11, 2009.
  21. "Suntonio Bandanaz - Boogie Up The Block" by Larry Mizell, Jr Archived 2014-05-20 at the Wayback Machine . The Stranger. September 22, 2010
  22. "RapReview Of The Week" by Steve 'Flash' Juon. RapReviews. January 17, 2012.