Taj Weekes & Adowa :: DEIDEM Review

MUSIC-REVIEWER.COM

Album review by: Carmen Blanco

Staff Rating: 10.0 of 10

Artist: Taj Weekes & Adowa
Title: Deidem
Label: Jatta Records 

Taj Weekes was born and raised on the island of St. Lucia where he listened to a broad range of ecletic music, making him impartial to certain genres and simply appreciative of all good music despite genre. It was not until his arrival in New York that he formed the group Taj Weekes & Adowa and released their 2005 debut album HOPE & DOUBT. After losing his parents within the span of 1 year, Taj Weekes began writing about his sorrows, but later decided to focus on more universal sorrows. Weekes’s concentration on universal experience, rather than personal, is further seen by the album title, DEIDEM, meaning “All of Us”.

Orphan’s Cry is set to classic reggae sounds that seem upbeat, but when you focus on the lyrics depicting the death of children and the loneliness, desperation, and isolation that many children must face, you quickly forget the happy feeling you felt through the music. Taj Weekes describes anguish in a way that you wish he didn’t.

Louisiana is a slow piano ballad about Hurricane Katrina and the broken levees in Louisiana. Expect no reggae sound on this track. Once again, it is just you and Taj Weekes & Adowa having to face the grim realities of social/class injustice. Weekes’s dragging voice further captures the somber tone, but also the exhaustion that people experienced in their attempt to find “the rainbow in the sky” that Weekes sings of.

For Today is much more up-tempo and brings a sense of hope. A plea to not dwell on the past and to take each day for what it is makes this song the most universal, in my opinion. Whereas other songs on this album concern themselves with global warming and brutalities, this song can speak for anybody, whether rich/poor or in a 1st world or 3rd world country. The song ends with a steady plea that resonates well after the song is over: “The later days have come/the ending has begun/beginnings on the way/hold on for today”.

DEIDEM showcases Weekes’ strong knack for lyricism and after listening to his songs, it is not surprising that he lists influences such as The Wailers, Steel Pulse, and U2. Weekes seems to embody all three groups with the lyrical content as well as the rich reggae sounds.