ENTERTAINMENT Sierra Leone's Top Reggae Artist Freddy " Shabaka " Cole Releases CD... Performs Live with Luciano Posted by on May 1, 2008, 12:03

Shabaka's new CD  " The Black Loyalist "  is making waves  across American college radio stations  as his music  continues to capture the hearts and imagination of  college students and reggae   fans across the country and charting on numerous radio stations. Now Shabaka is getting ready to penetrate  Africa where the continent awaits his music and his message. The Black  Loyalist CD tells many stories. The first song  ' African  Spirit " is a song of  inspiration for  the children of Africa  who are living in the villages  and the ghettos around the world.

In  " Mr. Jackson "  he chronicles the journey of an African-American who visits Africa, attempting to reconnect with his past in order to understand his future  " see dem a Come"  is about the use of child soldiers in African wars, the rape of  their  innocence and the theft of their future  " Who is the Enemy " is a commentary on our corrupt leaders ---- African Mafia,  and the title  track  " The Black loyalist "  tells the story of Thomas Peters, who was captured in Nigeria in 1760 and sold  into slavery in America. During the American Revolutionary War ,  he joined other blacks to fight on the  side of the British, who offered freedom in exchange for military service. At the end of the war, these men and their families were settled in Nova Scotia , Canada, where they were known as  the Black Loyalists .    Peters, went to London in 1791 to petition the British government for better treatment  of the Loyalists in Canada and on January 15th 1792, he led a contingent of 15 ships carrying 1,196 blacks to the  " promised land " .

Thomas Peters became one the founding fathers of a new settlement in West Africa. They called it Freetown, which is the present capital of The  Republic of Sierra Leone. These events were the beginnings of the Creole  people of Sierra Leone.  Shabaka says " My ancestors were descendants of freed African - American slaves. Maroons from Jamaica and freed Africans who were re=turned to Freetown when the slave trade was abolished. This ancestral mix is reflected in the music I make" The influences of great reggae singer/songwriters like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh,. Burning Spear and others are evident in Shabaka's music. However, his style and authenticity ushers in a new chapter in the marriage of  reggae music and African rhythms.