Respect | Tendekasha

Irie™ Magazine | Respect - Tendekasha

Tendekasha

Tendekasha, born Francisco Dos Passos Malheiros Dos Santos in Luanda, Angola, migrated to Portugal in 1977 at the age of eleven as a war refugee.

In his youth, Tendekasha found solace in music, and through his father’s wide music collection, he versed himself in a diverse range of genres.

In 1989, he moved to London. During that time, Tendekasha continued expressing himself through his passion for singing and percussion.

For many years, Tendekasha struggled with war trauma from his early years in Angola. His love of music, however, helped him overcome these adversities, and he has always derived great inspiration from Angolan and Jamaican revolutionary and traditional musicians.

Their music connected with Tendekasha, as they elegantly explored the strife of contemporary life in their home countries.

Tendekash is a singer, songwriter & percussionist and political activist who has always been strong about singing and expressing himself through his music. He is very proud of his African roots from where he was inspired at a very tender age of 6 years of age by Angolan revolutionary musicians who sang about the Angolan struggles such as: David Ze, Urbano De Castro, Carlos Buriti, Teta Lando and many more.

Reggae music has been a strong focus for him. He was strongly influenced by the following reggae artists: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Don Carlos, Gregory Isaacs, U Roy, Mighty Diamonds, Midnite Band, Fantan Mojah, Luthan Fyah, Israel Vibrations, Culture and many more.

He has a joint honours degree obtained at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London and his music focus on topics that are relevant to him such as: focus on world poverty, social and financial struggles, and promotion of true multiculturalism, anti-racist movement, irradiation of hunger and famine through sustainable approaches of development, narrowing the gap between rich and poor, promote social and racial equality, promoting love, harmony and respect amongst all races and the cultivation of the spirit and the soul. His debut album ‘Inner Tune’ was recorded with a small budget in the scope of thirty days ‘Inner Tune’ introduces Tendekasha as one of the most compelling and vivid storytellers in the independent music scene. His style of reggae harkens back to the golden era of the genre, evoking Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and the like. Tendekasha has also completed another collection of songs, ‘Poetic Justice’, due out March 31.

After the release of both albums, Tendekasha will tour Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany and England beginning on May 25.

Tendekasha is also an abstract painter, trained radio broadcaster and a actor.