Reggae singer Teacaha Dee’s “Rastafariway” features in the James Bond film
The artiste expressed his shock and disbelief at his song being dubbed in the upcoming James Bond film, No Time To Die, that was shot in Jamaica. The movie is set for release later this year after being postponed twice in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus being declared a pandemic in March 2020, a month ahead of the first scheduled premiere in April 2020.
Some scenes from the blockbuster movie, which is the 25th in the long-lived franchise, were shot in two locations in Jamaica – Portland, and Kingston.
Rastafari Way was released as part of a 2016 compilation project by Giddimani Productions which is owned and operated by reggae producer Perfect Giddimani.
It was a shock, and, honestly, in the first instance, when I got the email from the company called Search Party, I did not believe it. But afterward, I did some research on the placement company and then I called Perfect Giddimani. When I realized that it was real, I didn’t speak for about nine hours,” Dee told the Jamaica Gleaner.
Giddimani recalls the company detailing their role, which includes matching songs dubbed over scenes in movies. After that, MGM stepped in to finalize the copyright license for use in the Bond movie.“I signed the license deal for “Rastafari Way” last year. It is one of the songs on my “Horns of Africa” various artiste project, and it is also on Teacha Dee’s 2018 album. It feels like I have been rewarded for good work, and the fact is that this song wasn’t a huge seller. Rastafari way is a timeless, beautiful song and for that reason, I am not surprised that the producers chose it to be a part of No Time to Die,” he said.
According to Giddimani, the song, which is produced by Vienna- based House of Rhythm band, is to be credited for mixing the song. “At first, reggae artistes coming to Europe were a bit hesitant [to] use House of Rhythm because of the question, if “dem white bwoy deh can play’, but they have proved themselves to the point where, on all the major festivals, they were backing up to 16 reggae acts.”
Teacha Dee, whose real name is Damion Darrel Warrenota, shared that the song focuses on the struggles he had to face when he left teaching to pursue Rastafarianism.
“I was the mathematics specialist at Glendevon Primary and Junior High, but I was putting out songs and sending them to Europe. As a teacher, after a certain number of years, you are entitled to a long leave of eight months, so I took my leave and went to Europe, only to realise that my songs were huge, chart-toppers over there,” he said.
His journey took him to Germany where he still resides representing the culture.
Meanwhile, Teacha Dee says the song is about the struggles he faced after deciding to leave teaching to pursue Rastafari.
“I had no idea that this was happening. It was really hard to leave the students, but I had to make a choice, and plus I had just started my Rastafari journey and certain key persons were not supportive. So I have been here in Germany being an ambassador for music. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to know that such a big franchise has picked up this song,” Teacha Dee added.
He said that he hopes Jamaica can also share in his joy.
The bond movie is set to release on October 8, 2021.
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