Carlos Djedje

Mozambique-born, Pretoria-based Carlos Djedje is considered by many to be the father of South African reggae. He began performing and recording reggae tracks as early as the 1970s, long before the rise of Lucky Dube and Ivorian star Alpha Blondy in the 80s. In December 1983 Djedje performed in Swaziland alongside Jamaican reggae icon Peter Tosh.

Djedje, whose early albums included 'Remember Them', 'No Apartheid' and 'Ahoy Africa', saw his role as inextricably linked to the struggle for freedom, and his lyrics frequently referred to apartheid injustice. Since the fall of apartheid in the early 90s he has remained active, performing with his backing band The Protectors. Now in his mid-60s, in 2014 Djedje performed at the Penang World Music Festival in Malaysia as well as the Africa Festival in Würzburg, Germany. He has also performed as far afield as Spain, the UK and Denmark. In 2014 Djedje released a new album, fittingly entitled 'Conscious Reggae', and in early 2015 released a video for the single 'Don't Kill The Rastas'.