Teacha Dee ADD

Review

Album Review: Teacha Dee - Time Machine

12/23/2021

by Gardy Stein

Gut Ding will Weile haben. (German proverb)

"Good things take a while" is the literal translation of the quote above. In English, it could be either "good things come to those who wait" or "haste makes waste", and both meanings can be positively applied to the musical output of Damion Darrel Warren aka Teacha Dee. The former neatly wraps up the surprising inclusion of his track Rastafari Way (originally published in 2016) in the new James Bond movie No Time To Die [read the news here]. The latter describes the way Team Teacha has waited for the perfect moment to release his brand new album Time Machine - and now the time has come! 

The creation process for the album started four years ago, drawing on the skills of musicians and producers such as Greezzly Productions, Evidence Music, Brainfood International, Ragatac Music, and the mighty House Of Riddim, who contribute the most in terms of instrumentals - of the 17 tracks included, they are the originators of 13!

Starting with the sound of tropical rain, already the opening song will put you in a Reggae Mood, and this vibe is kept up throughout the release. In contrast to other contemporary artists who tend to experiment with styles and push the genre's boundaries, Teacha Dee sticks to his roots, both musically and lyrically. 

Thus, tracks like Rasta Man, Never Be Forever or Rastafari Warning celebrate the artist's convictions so illustratively captured in the Bond-feature mentioned above, convictions of unfaltering faith and the truth he sees in Rastafari livity. This stance extends to not only fellow Rastas, but to all Black people in the empowering Forward Black Man, an homage to Marcus Garvey and other visionaries. "I always learn from those who were before us." says Teacha Dee in the most recent episode of Wha' Gwaan Munchy [watch it here], adding that "the man who is willing to teach must be willing to learn!"

True to his name, Teacha Dee lectures us on personal inconsistencies in Mental Problem and nature's wonders as well as universal wisdom in What A Feeling. While these two are uneqivocal in their message, The Big Bang is a bit too subjective to agree with fully, imho, accusing hard-working scientists of spreading lies. 

More pensive notes are struck in The Golden Rule, a harsh criticism of the capitalist system in which only the rich people make the decisions. In a similar vein, Things Are Repeating describes the obvious inability of mankind to learn from past mistakes, and World Crisis sums up the results of these mistakes, surfacing now. 

The title track Time Machine expresses the singer's desire to travel back in time to prevent his younger ego from mistakes in life, a wish that many of you might share. But maybe it is exactly this painful process of trial and error that makes us who we are? Prophecies, unfolding in the opposite direction of an as yet unknown future, is an exciting mixture of almost acoustic instrumentals and military interludes of drums (provided by Brainfood International), creating a tense atmosphere into which Teacha Dee expertly drops his words, staccato style.

A personal favourite, Walk Away comes on the beautiful KenyaKibera riddim, originally released by Giddimani Records in 2017. "Ask and the door shall be open, stick to your goals from you know them, manifest good seeds and sow them, and watch how your blessings grow." Word!

Jah Say, an interesting stylistic variation from the previous tracks, is an intense steppa track produced by Switzerland's Evidence Music. Make sure you hear this one with the subwoofer on loud - boom! Speaking of variation... if there is anything at all to critizise about this release, it is the lack of features, some of whom might have added some different vocal flavours. For the fans who want to get the full Teacha Dee experience, however, this approach might be just right, and a collaboration oeuvre seems to be in the making. 

The album closes with I Appreciate You, a heartfelt THANK YOU to his fans, friends and family who "supported my dreams for a very long time, you laughed when I laughed, cried when I cried."

From nostalgic contemplations of days long gone to the futuristic cover by Essence of Mohanna, Time Machine is an album that pictures Teacha Dee's journey so far, his past, present and future, conveying messages of "spiritual health and spiritual well-being", as he stated the Munchy interview mentioned above. "This album has you thinking from track one to seventeen!"

And, since this certainly is the last review I'll write in 2021, I want to take the time out to wish you, dear readers, a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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