Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Abdul Tee-Jay, an abbreviation for the Fula name Tejan-Jalloh from the Fouta Jalloh region in Guinea where his family originally came from, started playing guitar at the age of nine. His parents objected, so he practiced at a cousin’s home, spurning the western pop styles being adopted by his friends and followed local musical styles from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.
Major early influences were Sekou Diabate from Guinea’s legendary Bembeya Jazz, Congo’s Doctor Nico and Freddie Green from Sierra Leone’s 60s stars Super Combo.
In 1974 he moved to West Virginia in the United States to study, playing there with a funk band called Spice. He moved to Great Britain in 1979. Throughout the early and mid 1980s, he played pan-African styles with a variety of bands, including African Connection and African Culture. Eventually, he decided to concentrate on his own music based on Sierra Leonean folklore, incorporating some of the prevailing local contemporary influences like soukous and highlife.
By the late 1980s, his band Rokoto was being hailed as the best modern African outfit in the UK and their 1989 debut album Kanka Kuru was a big seller. They followed it with two more albums over the next decade, and Abdul worked with many major African names visiting the UK, often outshining the legends themselves.
Discography:
Kanka Kuru (1994)
Rokoto Make Me Dance Dance (2002)
Palm Wine a Go-Go (Far Side Music, 2003)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.