Queen Makedah

Queen Makedah’s healing music infuses sultry r&b, soul and jazz vocals into contemporary reggae and worldbeat rhythms. 

Born and raised in the midst of Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine Street Jazz District – home of the legendary alto-sax player Charlie Parker – QUEEN MAKEDAH’S role models were singers like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Phoebe Snow, Roberta Flack, Minnie Ripperton, Cheryl Lynn, Chaka Khan and Phyllis Hyman.  Following the lead of such vocal trailblazers, the talented young songstress won a host of local talent shows and a recording contract by age 16.

As a youth during the turbulent 70’s in America, Queen Makedah’s passion for reggae music was kindled by the truth and rights message and revolutionary sound of the legendary Bob Marley and The Wailers, backed by the soulful harmonies of the I-Three’s reggae queens Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths and Rita Marley. Makedah’s talent as a songwriter began to bud in Israel, out of which her freshman album arose – ‘The Awakening’ (co-produced by Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus). 

She has since co-produced her sophomore album ‘Spiritual Healing,’ an EP entitled ‘Bless Africa’ and
is currently working on her 3rd album ‘Peace Process.’  (Fall 2015)  The Peace Process album will
unleash a series of collaborative tracks with Zion I records [I Grade/Haile Tabernacle/Lustre Kings], including new singles ‘Suspicious,’ ‘I Am Shem,’ ‘King Queen Riddim’ (February 2016) – the first of an exciting new wave of conscious music for fans to enjoy.

Since touring the U.S., Queen Makedah has shared the stage with reggae greats like Don Carlos, Sister Carol, the Twinkle Brothers, The Rastafarians, Winston Jarrett, Rootz Underground, Bambu Station and Groundation at some of the most celebrated world music festivals in the world, including the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (SNWMF), the Northwest World Reggae Festival (NWWRF) and Monterey Bay Reggae Fest (MBRF) to name a few, plus Groundation’s Marcus Garvey Tribute Celebration at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz.  

Through her non-profit, Empress Meditations, Queen Makedah has also worked to bring recognition to women in reggae/world music, while raising donations for charity.  In 2013, the ‘Women for Peace’ tour visited Sebastapol, Nevada City, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Berkeley, Pacifica, Point Richmond’s Summer Concert Series and Oregon’s Northwest World Reggae Festival, plus aided A Safe Place, Oakland’s oldest shelter for victims of domestic violence. 

QUEEN MAKEDAH’S MUSIC can be purchased at Cdbaby.com, Itunes.com, Spotify, Ebreggae.com and all major digital music outlets. Visit www.queenmakedah.com or [email protected] for bookings, comments or more information.