Gabriel Teodros (born 1981) is a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist and a member of the groups Abyssinian Creole and CopperWire. He was raised on Beacon Hill, Seattle, Washington. Teodros' music often features socially conscious themes, and he was a catalyst in the surge of dynamic underground rap acts from the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

during the first decade of the 2000s.

Early life

Teodros was born and raised in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, to an Ethiopian mother and a father of Scottish, Irish and Native American descent. His parents met through anti-war organizing in the 1970s, and they split up around the time Gabriel was born. He stayed with his mother, and met grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins as they first emigrated to the United States and all stayed in the same house.Interview: Gabriel Teodros
The Find Magazine. July 13, 2010. Teodros's relationship with

culture began at a young age within the South Seattle neighborhood of Beacon Hill. "A lot of kids in my neighborhood were affected by gang culture. And I kind of had a death wish. I felt like, at an early age, that I wasn’t going to live to 21," he said in an interview with '' Sheeko Magazine''. He spent his high school years in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

where as one out of approximately 30 students of color in a predominantly white school, something within him changed. "It was the first time I understood that there was a system in place that wanted kids like me to want to die. And understanding that in high school made me want to live," he said in the same interview. The former breakdancer, graffiti writer and closet-emcee finally began to take his career path seriously at age 16, using hip hop to both understand and explain his world."Profile: Gabriel Teodros" by Alison Isaac
. Sheeko Magazine. July 2008.

Music career

1999–2005: Beginnings and Abyssinian Creole

Teodros began his musical career around 1999, when he returned to Seattle and began working with a live band called 500 Years. That same year, he met an MC named Khalil Crisis (better known as Khingz), from the group Maroon Colony. The two groups began sharing bills together all over Seattle and the two MCs also began working with a community organization called Youth Undoing Institutionalized Racism. In 2001, YUIR sent them to a conference in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 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.Gabriel Teodros (of Abyssinian Creole) - interview by Todd E. Jones
Insomniac Magazine. December 19, 2006. Also in 2001, Teodros released his first solo album, entitled ''Sun To A Recycled Soul''. In 2005, Abyssinian Creole released its debut album, ''

Sexy Beast ''Sexy Beast'' is a 2000 black comedy crime film directed by Jonathan Glazer (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. It stars Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane. It follows Gary "Gal" ...

'', a record that gives expression to the post-1990s

cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...

thriving in South Seattle. "Let 'Lovework' Rule" by Charles Mudede
The Stranger. February 27, 2007. The album's featured guests include

Moka Only Daniel Denton (born November 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Moka Only, is a Canadian hip hop artist and producer . He is originally from Langford, British Columbia, where he cultivated a deep passion for hip hop. Later, moving to San ...

, Geologic of

Blue Scholars Blue Scholars is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi) and MC Geologic (George Quibuyen), were students at the University of Washington. The name "Blue Scholar ...

and

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist rele ...

."My Philosophy" by Larry Mizell Jr
The Stranger. December 1, 2005. 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).

2006–2007: ''Lovework''

In the spring of 2006, Teodros completed the entire '' Lovework'' album with producer Amos Miller, around the same time MassLine Media was being formed with Teodros,

and

Common Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of ...

. ''Lovework'' had additional beat contributions from Sabzi of Blue Scholars,

, Kitone, and Specs One. Its sound was primarily influenced by Seattle veteran Vitamin D (who also mixed the record) and the late

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

. The album title, ''Lovework'' was inspired by

bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952 – December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks (stylized in lowercase), was an American author, theorist, educator, and social critic who was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Be ...

and her book '' All About Love: New Visions'', where hooks insists that to truly know love, one must agree that love is a verb. She goes further to say to truly know love, one must work to undo every system of domination that stops people from truly loving. The title was also inspired by a quote from

Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and Visual arts, visual artist; he was also considered a philosopher, although he himself reject ...

's '' The Prophet'': "Work is love made visible". Also in 2006, Good Medicine was formed: a four-person group composed of Teodros, Khingz,

and Geologic of

. Good Medicine have headlined a handful of shows in the Seattle area but have never released any music as a group. Towards the end of that year, Teodros independently released a mix-tape/CD entitled ''Westlake: Class of 1999'', which was a collection of his unreleased songs recorded in four different cities between 2002 and 2006. The '' Lovework'' album was released on February 27, 2007, on MassLine, to critical acclaim."My Philosophy" by Larry Mizell Jr
The Stranger. February 14, 2007 The album topped the

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

Hip Hop charts for two weeks and came in at No. 19 for the year 2007. Teodros was also named as one of '' URB Magazine''s "Next 100".

2009–2010: Air 2 A Bird and ''GT's Ethiopium''

In the fall of 2009, after being deported from the London-Heathrow Airport and having to cancel a European tour, Teodros found himself in a

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

recording studio with ''Lovework'' producer Amos Miller."Gabriel Teodros Talks about Life, Music, and the Future" Interview by AddisTunes
AddisTunes. November 20, 2009. They spent two weeks together crafting a 12 track album produced using mostly

GarageBand GarageBand is a software application by Apple Inc., Apple for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or Podcast, podcasts. It is a lighter, amateur-oriented offshoot of Logic Pro. GarageBand was originally released for ...

, a piano, and the recordings of actual birds. The result was Air 2 A Bird's ''Crow Hill'', released independently in the summer of 2010. In December 2009, Teodros released ''GT's Ethiopium: A Jitter Generation Mixtape''. This release shined a light on the realities of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, touched on America's own imperfections and stressed the importance of exploring one's own intelligence and spirituality. It was made completely using instrumentals from Oh No's '' Ethiopium'', which was made completely using old-school and rare samples of Ethiopian music.

2012: ''Colored People's Time Machine'' and CopperWire

In January 2012, Teodros released ''Colored People's Time Machine'', his first full-length solo album since '' Lovework''."Review: Gabriel Teodros - Colored People's Time Machine" by Jonathan Cunningham
Okayplayer. January 2012. ''Colored People's Time Machine'' was recorded in Seattle and Brooklyn and is a multi-lingual, multi-genre album that featured vocal, instrumental, and production collaborations with 20 different artists. On it, he explored themes of love (''Goodnight'', a brief interlude on a long-distance relationship), cultural identity (''Blossoms of Fire''), personal identity (''Alien Native'', a biographical tale), the concept of home (''Diaspora'' and ''Beit''), loss (''Ella Mable Bright'', a tribute to his grandmother featuring Meklit Hadero), music (''Colored People’s Time Machine'', and ''Sun and Breeze'', also featuring Meklit Hadero and Amos Miller), and the music industry (''You A Star'', on which he warns about the pitfalls of the industry and the danger of buying into the illusion of stardom). Other guests on the album include Mexico City's Bocafloja, Los Angeles emcee SKIM, and Palestinian wordsmith Sabreena Da Witch. On April 17, 2012, CopperWire's debut album ''Earthbound'' was released on Porto Franco Records. CopperWire is a group composed of Teodros, Meklit Hadero and Burntface. All three celebrate their

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

ancestry on the album, but do so through the characters of galactic fugitives aboard a hijacked

starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...

. ''Earthbounds story, as described in liner notes by award-winning

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author

Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels '' Who Fears ...

, casts CopperWire members as characters that journey to Earth in the year 2089 to learn what it means to be human. They include mad scientist Scholar Black (Burntface), alien-human hybrid Getazia (Gabriel Teodros) and interstellar telepath Ko Ai (Meklit Hadero)."With Earthbound, CopperWire Creates a Soulful Sci-Fi Space Opera" by Scott Thill
Wired. April 25, 2012. The album uses metaphors of intergalactic distances to talk about diaspora and cultural connection and disconnection. The album also uses sonified light curves (that is the sound of

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

s, processed through

Fourier analysis In mathematics, Fourier analysis () is the study of the way general functions may be represented or approximated by sums of simpler trigonometric functions. Fourier analysis grew from the study of Fourier series, and is named after Joseph Fo ...

into frequencies that can be heard by humans) courtesy of

SETI Institute The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and futu ...

researcher and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of p ...

Labs analyst Jon Jenkins.

2014: ''Children of the Dragon'' and ''Evidence of Things Not Seen''

On May 7, 2014, Teodros independently released the album ''Children of the Dragon'' with

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

–based producer AirMe. Teodros met AirMe in 2011 during a 24-hour layover in Washington, DC while traveling between the cities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Seattle, WA. They recorded their first song together that day, before co-creating 20 more tracks together the following month. The title ''Children of the Dragon'' is a reference to mythology Teodros first heard of in

Haile Gerima Haile Gerima (born March 4, 1946) is an Ethiopian filmmaker who lives and works in the United States. He is a leading member of the L.A. Rebellion film movement, also known as the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers. Since 1975, Haile has b ...

's film '' Teza''. On October 28, 2014, Teodros released the album ''Evidence of Things Not Seen'' with Auckland, New Zealand–based producer SoulChef, and featured vocals from

Jonathan Emile Jonathan Whyte Potter-Mäl (born February 19, 1986), known by his stage name Jonathan Emile (or Jon E), is a Jamaican Canadian singer, rapper, record producer and cancer survivor. In October 2015, he released his debut studio album, ''The Lover ...

, Shakiah and Sarah MK. The album and its title were largely inspired by

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

, and it was released within a full-size book of Teodros' lyrics. City Arts Magazine described it as the best album of Teodros' career.

2018: ''History Rhymes If It Doesn't Repeat (A Southend Healing Ritual)''

On September 21, 2018, Teodros released his fifth solo album, ''History Rhymes If It Doesn't Repeat (A Southend Healing Ritual)'', a concept album about healing from trauma that was partially inspired by

Bessel van der Kolk Bessel van der Kolk (; born July 1943) is a Boston-based Dutch-American psychiatrist, author, researcher and educator. Since the 1970s his research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress. He is the author of four books, including ''The Ne ...

's book '' The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma''. The album's featured guests included Meklit Hadero, Khingz, Nikkita Oliver, Essam, Shakiah, Mikaela Romero, Otieno Terry and it was entirely produced by

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

featured the album in a story titled ''"Beyond Grunge: 15 Artists Redefining Seattle Music"'' where they declared ''"Gabriel Teodros is one of the bravest rappers currently working in Seattle."''

2020: ''What We Leave Behind ''

On June 24, 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and on the 20th anniversary of his first solo show at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center in South Seattle, Teodros released ''What We Leave Behind'', a collection of previously unreleased tracks spanning decades in their creation, along with a few new songs recorded specifically for the release. Some of the track highlights included a

Sandra Bland Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on , 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Officials found her death to be a suicide. There were pro ...

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

and

-inspired collaboration with Aisha Fukushima titled ''"If They Come for Me in the Morning..."'', a DJ B-Girl-produced meditation on the pandemic's early months titled ''"Listening to Bill Withers"'', and ''"Solidarity"'' an anthem for Black & Asian solidarity with Kimmortal and Wundrkut on production.

2023–2024: ''From the Ashes of Our Homes'' and ''Embers''

On September 23, 2023, Teodros released his sixth solo album ''From the Ashes of Our Homes''. The albums themes range from a tragic fire that he and his spouse,

Ijeoma Oluo Ijeoma Oluo (; born 1980) is an American writer. She is the author of '' So You Want to Talk About Race'' and has written for ''The Guardian,'' ''Jezebel'', '' The Stranger'', ''Medium'', and ''The Establishment'', where she was also an editor-at ...

, had to flee from in September 2020, to longtime friends that have passed away, and a shifting landscape wracked by the pandemic, wars, and the climate catastrophe. Alex Ruder at

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in indie music programmed by its disc jockeys. KEXP's studios are located at the Seattle Cent ...

wrote ''"From the Ashes of Our Homes finds strength in its honest and reflective lyrics that focus on building and nurturing relationships, both at home and in the community."'' ''Ashes'' also marks Teodros introduction to the world as a beat producer on a majority of the tracks. On May 31, 2024, Teodros released ''Embers'', a collection of new songs alongside previously unreleased remixes and reimagined songs from past projects.

Touring

As a part of Abyssinian Creole, Teodros performed alongside Khingz at the Under the Volcano Festival in North Vancouver, BC in 2003, 2004 and 2009. Teodros performed at the

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...

Festival in Seattle, Washington in 2006 (with Abyssinian Creole), 2007 (as a solo artist, and with Good Medicine), and in 2010 (with Air 2 A Bird). In 2007, Teodros toured the Western part of the United States with

and

, for the first and only MassLine Tour. Also in 2007, Teodros performed at the

Sasquatch! Music Festival Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days. In 2018, it was announced that the festival was c ...

, which was headlined by

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

, and also featured

Manu Chao Manu Chao (; born José Manuel Tomás Arturo Chao Ortega on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish musician. He sings in French language, French, Spanish language, Spanish, English language, English, Italian language, Italian, Arabic, Catalan language ...

and

Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...

. Teodros also performed at the

Trinity International Hip Hop Festival The Trinity International Hip Hop Festival is a free music festival that brings together Hip Hop artists from around the world. It has been held annually at Trinity College in Hartford, CT since 2006. "The festival was designed to promote internat ...

in Hartford, Connecticut in 2007 (as a solo artist), and in 2008 (as a part of Abyssinian Creole). In the summer of 2009, Teodros toured in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with Bocafloja,

Eternia ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...

and Para La Gente. In 2011, Teodros toured

alongside Meklit Hadero and Burntface, where they did 12 shows including the first Hip Hop shows to ever happen in the cities of

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

and

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on ...

. He recorded an album in

inspired by the experience, that was released in May 2014 Teodros has also performed in the United States alongside the likes of

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...

Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief *Black dwarf ...

, K'naan,

Zap Mama Zap Mama is a Belgian singer-songwriter, performer, composer, lyricist, activist, video artist and ethno-vocal therapist born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised in Belgium. Zap Mama sings polyphonic and afro-pop music, a harmonic music ...

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative ...

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

and

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned politica ...

Other work

Teodros currently hosts a podcast titled ''Worldwide Underground'' focused on the art and politics of storytelling across every medium. Teodros leads writing workshops with youth, has helped spearhead after-school programs, and organizes all-ages events. In November 2012, Teodros did a

TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

about hip hop and science fiction, at TEDxRainier in Seattle, Washington. The Pittsburgh-based artist Alisha Wormsley cites this TED Talk as an inspiration in her afro-futurist project ''There Are Black People In The Future''. In 2015, Teodros wrote curriculum, taught and helped launch The Residency, a summer program focused on youth development through hip-hop, in partnership with the

Museum of Pop Culture The Museum of Pop Culture (or MoPOP) is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then ...

, Arts Corps, and

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...

. Also in 2015, Teodros made his speculative fiction debut with a time-travel story titled "Lalibela" published in the anthology ''Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements'' (

AK Press AK Press is a workers' self-management, worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specializes in publishing books about anarchism and the Far-left politics, radical left. Operated out of Chico, California, United States, ...

). In 2016 he graduated from the

Clarion West Writers Workshop Clarion West is a non-profit organization best known for their intensive six-week workshop for writers preparing for professional careers in speculative fiction. The Six-Week Workshop is a space for writing short stories and learning how to worksho ...

for Speculative Fiction. From 2017 to 2023 Teodros was a DJ and Host on

90.3 FM in Seattle, WA. He started with an overnight show, and launched the show ''Early'' in the summer of 2020, which aired every weekday from 5–7 a.m., Pacific Time. Teodros also served as Associate Music Director at the station, and he had a hand in bringing in shows like ''Sounds of Survivance'' and ''Overnight Afrobeats'' to the station. In 2023, Teodros co-taught an interdisciplinary course in the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

's Honors program called "Lovework: an unfinished syllabus", named for his 2007 LP and inspired by the work of

Discography

Solo albums

*'' Lovework'' (Massline, February 27, 2007) *''Colored People's Time Machine'' (Fresh Chopped Beats/MADK Productions, January 19, 2012) *''Children of The Dragon'' (produced by AirMe) (Independent, May 7, 2014) *''Evidence of Things Not Seen'' (produced by SoulChef) (independent, October 28, 2014) *''History Rhymes If It Doesn't Repeat (A Southend Healing Ritual)'' (produced by

) (independent, September 21, 2018) *''What We Leave Behind'' (independent, June 24, 2020) *''From the Ashes of Our Homes'' (independent, September 23, 2023) *''Embers'' (independent, May 31, 2024)

Collaborative albums

*''

'' (with Khingz, as Abyssinian Creole) (MADK/Pangea, November 30, 2005) *''Crow Hill'' (with Amos Miller, as Air 2 A Bird) (independent, July 22, 2010) *''Earthbound'' (with Meklit Hadero & Burntface, as CopperWire) (Porto Franco Records, April 7, 2012)

EPs

*''Sexy Beast'' EP (with Khingz, as Abyssinian Creole) (MADK/Pangea, 2005) *''No Label'' (Massline, 2007) *''The Lentil Soup'' EP (produced by DJ Ian Head) (Everyday Beats, May 2011)"Gabriel Teodros x DJ Ian Head - Computer Parlor" by Larry Mizell, Jr
The Stranger. April 19, 2011. *''The Anniversary'' EP (independent, December 9, 2019)

Mixtapes

*''Westlake: Class of 1999'' (Independent, September 11, 2006) *''GT's Ethiopium: A Jitter Generation Mixtape'' (Independent, December 15, 2009)

Non-album singles

*"Me & You" featuring Silver Shadow D (independent, July 28, 2009) *"Black Love (OCnotes Remix)" with Sarah MK (independent, October 1, 2014) *"Domestic Imperialism" with SoulChef (independent, August 25, 2016) *"The World Is a Hidmo" (independent, August 29, 2020) *"Coffee & Sage" with Third Eye Bling (independent, October 7, 2022)

Guest appearances

– ''Flood'' – "Liquid Sunshine" featuring Gabriel T. (Underworld/Battle Axe Records, 2002) *

– ''The Language of My World'' – "Claiming The City" featuring Abyssinian Creole (independent, 2005) *

– ''

'' – "Every Last One (Cornerstone Remix)" featuring Geologic (of

) & Gabriel Teodros (MassLine, 2006) *Nam – ''Exhale'' – "Ghetto" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Toni Hill (independent, 2008) *The Kafa Beanz – ''Andromeda: The Chronicles of Blackopia Volume 1'' – "Tizita" – Gabriel Teodros featuring B Sheba (Burntface Media, 2008) *DJ Ian Head – ''Pieces'' – "Sippin Coffee" featuring Abyssinian Creole (independent, 2008) *Khingz – ''From Slaveships To Spaceships'' – "Boi Caimen At Adwa" featuring Gabriel Teodros (Fresh Chopped Beats/MADK, 2009) *Big World Breaks – ''4 Those Lost...'' – "Emerald City Step" featuring Yirim Seck, Khingz, B-Flat, Gabriel Teodros, okanomodé (independent, 2009) *The LivinYard – ''Summer's Here / Society Of Summer'' – Khingz, Nam & Gabriel Teodros (independent, 2009) *Canary Sing – ''Boss Ladies: A Mixtape'' – "Raindrops" featuring Gabriel Teodros, Slay, Chev, One. Two (independent, 2010) *Sabreena Da Witch – ''A Woman Under The Influence'' – "Beit / Home" featuring Gabriel Teodros (independent, 2010) *Random Abiladeze – ''Indubitably!'' – "On My Feet" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Uptown Swuite (independent, 2011) * Bocafloja – ''Patologías del Invisible Incómodo'' – "Agonia" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Hollis Wong-Wear (Quilomboarte, 2012)"Bocafloja – Agonia"
Ritmo Urbano. August 2012. *KA.LIL (Khingz) – ''Between Saturday Night & Sunday Morning'' – "Year 3000" featuring Gabriel Teodros (Wandering Worx, 2013) *SoulChef – ''Food For Thought'' – "Black Love" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Sarah MK (independent, 2013) *Hightek Lowlives – ''Humanoid Void'' – "Humanoid Void" & "Believe In Me" featuring Gabriel Teodros (Cabin Games, 2014) * BluRum13 & Conn-Shawnery – ''BluConnspiracy'' – "Mr. Brainwash" & "Unify the Body" featuring Gabriel Teodros (independent, 2016) *

Rebel Diaz Rebel Diaz is a political hip hop duo out of New York City and Chicago consisting of the Chilean brothers Rodrigo Venegas (known as RodStarz) and Gonzalo Venegas (known as G1). Rebel Diaz uses their music as an organizing tool and to spread kno ...

– ''You Mad!'' – "You Mad!" featuring Gabriel Teodros (independent, 2018) *Chris Carroll – ''Blue'' – "Blue" featuring Gabriel Teodros (Raindrop Sound, 2021) *Khingz – ''A Safe Place For Us'' – "Badtz Maru", "No Perfect Person" & "Ashes '95" featuring Gabriel Teodros (OTOW/freshcutlowers, 2023) * Bocafloja – ''Después de Mañana'' – "Fanonian" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Aisha Fukushima (independent, 2023)

Videography

*2007: "No Label (Esma Remix)" *2007: "Don't Cry For Us" featuring Khingz & Toni Hill *2008: "Third World Wide" *2008: "Tizita" *2011: "Computer Parlor" *2012: "Blossoms of Fire" *2012: CopperWire "Phone Home" *2012: Bocafloja "Agonia" featuring Gabriel Teodros & Hollis Wong-Wear *2012: "Mind Power" *2014: "Black Love" featuring Sarah MK *2014: "Light Attracts Light & Everything Else Too" *2015: "Greeny Jungle" featuring Shakiah *2016: "Domestic Imperialism""Gabriel Teodros & SoulChef / Domestic Imperialism"
Sociedad Cimarrona. September 3, 2016. *2022: "Coffee & Sage" with Third Eye Bling *2022: "Open Letter" *2023: "Spacetime" *2023: "You & Me" featuring Aisha Fukushima &

References

External links

Gabriel Teodros official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teodros, Gabriel 1981 births American male rappers American people of Ethiopian descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent Ethiopian musicians Living people Rappers from Seattle 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians