Saidullah "Deeder" Zaman ( bn, সাঈদউল্লাহ দিদার জামান;

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

: सईदउल्लाह दीदार जमान; born 25 July 1978), is a Bangladeshi-British

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and former lead vocalist for British band

Asian Dub Foundation Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guit ...

Early life

Zaman got involved with music when he was six years old and used to

breakdance Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

. He was nine years old when he first started making music and performed his first live performance aged 11. He used to performance with his sister, Parul. He was also a member of Joi Bangla Zaman grew up on

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and hip hop music, and got into

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

in his teens. Zaman's father is a homoeopathic doctor, and his elder brother, Saifullah "Sam" Zaman (1965–2015, also known as State of Bengal), was a DJ and music producer. In 1987, Zaman became an original member of his brother's State of Bengal group which included MC Mustaq. Zaman attended Stratford School.

Career

At the age of 14, Zaman joined the Community Music, a London-based educational organisation that focuses on collective music making, at Community Music House in Farringdon where bassist Dr Das (Aniruddha Das) taught music technology and civil rights worker DJ John Pandit (Pandit G) helped him out as a youth worker. Zaman attended workshops teaching youths the basics of music technology. In late 1993, the three formed

as a sound system to play at anti-racist gigs. The following year, they recruited guitarist Chandrasonic and evolved into a band. The final member Sun-J joined in 1995. Zaman was the lead vocalist for Asian Dub Foundation and was known as Master D. In December 2000, he left the band after being inspired by activist work while recording the Asian Dub Foundation song "Free Satpal Ram" about a young man who was convicted and imprisoned for defending himself in a racist attack and being involved with the Satpal Ram campaign. He then devoted his energies to civil rights and anti-racism organisations. He has worked for National Civil Rights Movement, the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, the

Miscarriages of Justice Organisation The Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (MOJO) is a Scottish charity dedicated to human rights and to changing the criminal justice system in order to reduce the number of miscarriages of criminal justice and increase the level of professional afte ...

and the

Children with AIDS Charity Children With AIDS Charity was a national UK charity to help children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS maintain a good quality of life. CWAC was set up in 1992 with the aim of "working towards a future without poverty or prejudice for these children ...

. In 2002, Zaman formed Rebel Uprising with multi-instrumentalist Passion and bassist Dennis Rootical from Irration Steppas. In January 2008, Zaman's debut solo album '' Minority Large'' was released by

Beat Records Beat Records was an independent record label started by California night club promoter Stephen Zepeda (a.k.a. Steve Zepeda). Beat Records had record releases by Gary Valentine (of Blondie), The Furys, and The Plimsouls (featuring Peter Case). ...

. In October 2011, his second solo album '' Pride of the Underdog'' was released by Modulor. Zaman contributed to the soundtracks of the 1999 film ''

Brokedown Palace ''Brokedown Palace'' is a 1999 American drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman and Lim Kay Tong. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for alleged drug smuggling. Its ...

'' and the 2006 film '' The Namesake''. Zaman's music features hip hop, reggae and ragas. When he was in Asian Dub Foundation, the genres featured were also punk or jungle punk but his music is now roots based with early reggae and

nyabinghi Nyabinghi or Nyabingi is a prominent figure in the history of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, where religions or 'possession cults' formed around her. Probably via a 1930s article, the term "Nyabinghi" was introduced to Jamaica. There, it was adopted ...

influences. He plays percussion, bass and guitar. His musical influences include

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

, Mohammed Rafi,

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

Tony Rebel Patrick George Anthony Barrett (born 15 January 1962), better known by his stage name Tony Rebel, is a Jamaican reggae deejay. Career Born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica, Barrett was initially a singer, appearing as Papa Tony or Tony Ranking in ...

and Paban Das Baul.

Discography

Albums

References

External links