Mamadee

Mamadee (born 12. September 1979 as Mamadie Wappler[1] in Dresden, Germany) is a German Reggae singer and songwriter.

Mamadee
Mamadee June 2012 (Photo by Bénédicte Bauer)
Background information
Birth nameMamadie Wappler
Born (1979-09-12) September 12, 1979
Dresden, Free State of Saxony
Genresreggae, gospel, soul
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active2000–present
Associated actsGentleman, Sisters Keepers

Family

Mamadee grew up with her parents, two sisters, and her grandparents in a small village called Altrottmannsdorf,[2] near Zwickau as the youngest daughter of a father from Sierra Leone and a German mother.[3] When she was five years old, she started to learn to play piano. In 1999, she moved to Cologne, where her sister lives, to become a singer.[4]

Music

Her first engagement in Cologne was as background singer for Pauls Club, a band which specialized in jazz and soul classics. After approaching the movement/band Brothers Keepers with her first own song Farbgesetz Mamadee, she became a member of their female version Sisters Keepers in 2000.[1][5] Later she belonged to the management board of Sisters e.V.[6]

Mamadee (in the background the American soul and reggae singer Tamika) at the Africa Festival in Würzburg, Germany in May 2005)

Since his 2002 concert tour through Germany, she has accompanied Gentleman as a background singer until 2012. Her song Good Days, which she wrote and performed with the American singer Tamika, appears also on the album Gentleman & The Far East Band Live. She also contributed to several albums of other artists like Mellow Mark and Seeed.

Mamadee in Milano, Italy in March 2007 (Photo: spike)

Mamadee sings not exclusively reggae but also jazz, gospel and soul music. In 2005 her first own EP Lass los was released which contained nine tracks (besides six versions of the title song also Give Something an exclusively for Mamadee composed song by the Jamaican singer-songwriter Jack Radics, Hör nicht auf written by Mamadee herself and Trust In You produced by Gentleman). It was published by the label Bushhouse Records, which was founded by Gentleman and his manager Stephan Schulmeister in 2005. Lass los reached position 79 in the German charts.[7] She also worked with Seeed and Andrew Tosh as background singer.

Together with Gentleman she performed "Lass los" at the Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 for the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia where they shared last place in the competition with Sandy Mölling who competed for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

In 2013, Mamadee published her first solo album Beautiful Soul which was recorded in Miami and produced by Conrad Glaze, founder and president of the music label Born Free Records.[2]

Film documentation

In 2007, director Sven Halfar produced the documentation Yes I Am in which the lives of Mamadee, Adé Bantu and D-Flame were portrayed. The film shows the career development of Afro-German musical artists and the problems they have encountered due to their skin color.[8][9]

Mamadee at the Un Canto Por Africa festival, 24 March 2012 in Mexico (Photo: Adriian Mur)

Social engagement

Due to her own experience with discrimination during her teenage years in East Germany Mamadee champions against intolerance and xenophobia. She tried to come to terms with her own history in her song Farbgesetz which was featured in the Yes I Am documentation and did educational work for youths in schools since she joined in 2000 the non-profit association Sisters e.V.[2] In February 2009 Mamadee finished her studies with a BA degree as certified social pedagogue.[10]

Discography
Albums
Single
  • Who I Am (feat. Born Free, Pyton & Hurricane, 2010)
  • Africa Is Calling (feat. Ky-Mani Marley, 2011)
EP
  • Lass Los (2005)
  • Good Days (with Tamika, 2007)
Contributions
  • Turtle Bay Country Club: Kein Leichter Weg (with the songs "Baby" and "Kein leichter Weg")
  • Brothers Keepers: Lightkultur (with the Sisters Keepers' song "Liebe & Verstand", 2001)
  • Mellow Mark: Sturm ("Babies" feat. Mamadee, 2003)
  • Gentleman & The Far East Band: Live (CD, DVD) (Backgroundsängerin; with the song "Good Days", 2003)
  • Seeed: Musik Monks ("What You Deserve Is What You Get" & "Double Soul" feat. Mamadee, 2004)
  • Gentleman - Diversity Live (DVD) (DVD 2: Live concert from the 25th anniversary of Summerjam Festival 2010 with the song "Beautiful Soul", 2011)

References
  1. Lorentz, Frank (6 January 2002). "Mit Rhytmen voller Seele". Die Welt. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  2. "MAMADEE". Kompass, Das Stadtmagazin für Zwickau, Vogtland und Erzgebirge. 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  3. Mamadee Wappler (in German)
  4. MAMADEE SOUL ZWISCHEN GENTLEMAN UND SISTERS KEEPERS (in German)
  5. Mamadee
  6. Sisters e.V. (in German)
  7. Swiss Charts
  8. Seeberg, Vera (18 December 2007). "Wer bin ich?". Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. (in German)
  9. Yes I Am
  10. Video interview Mamadee
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