Ras Sheehama (born in 1966 in northern

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

) is a Namibian reggae musician. The political pro-

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

stance of his father David Sheehama, forced him into exile in 1979 to

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. There he started to develop his love for the reggae-music and begin to play guitar. In

for the first time he got in contact with the

Rastafari Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...

and

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 ...

culture. During the time at a high school in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

between 84 and 88 he played in several Reggae bands. When he returned home in 1990 to witness the first free elections in his home country, he brought huge experiences to Namibia. Since 1990 he has released several LPs and cassettes which are only available in

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. From these tapes several hits were successful continuously in Namibia. Sheehama was able to win several national prices. The recording band of Ras Sheehama was composed of famous musicians from well-known South African bands Stimela and Bayete which was also of

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...

. Ras Sheehama is an outstanding singer, who understands to show African joy of life and criticism of the political and social situation of past and future. Rastafari is always a central point in his songs without becoming pathetic at all. In the end of May 1999 Ras Sheehama celebrated his first show in Germany together with the former

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...

's Band The Slaves at the

Africa Festival Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Ras has performed in Germany, UK, uba

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He also opened the show for the legendary reggae act Don Carlos in Johannesburg in 2001 and for

Manu Di Bango Manu may refer to: Geography *Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru **Manú River, in southeastern Peru *Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Temple ...

in 1995 in Windhoek. Ras Sheehama won the Music Award Category for his song ''Inotela'' in 1996 which led him to perform at the Music Festival Le Printemps de Bourges in France. In 1997 and thereafter to open for Ismael Lo at the Reunion Island the same year. In March 2005, Ras launched his fifth album ''Pure Love'' followed quickly in June 2006 by his 6th album ''Travelling On...'', a blend of some of Ras's most popular songs spanning two decades.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehama, Ras 1966 births Living people Namibian musicians Reggae musicians