Battle Axe, the new visuals from Abka Kaba previously known as Sheldon Senior is cinematically
brilliant. But before we start talking about the new visuals it is the rebirth of Sheldon Senior now Abka
Kaba that begs the question, why did you change your name in the first place? The name Sheldon
Senior has been known in reggae circles for years as a talented artist with a message of love and
peace plus a big voice that cuts across genres and reveals his deep-rooted sous style. But now we
see this almost rebirth of the man in the farm Abka Kaba. What happened we ask? “It is a rebirth in
some since” he responded. I have been on a path of rediscovering myself as an artist, a man and as a
spiritual soul.
Starting with his previous name (Sheldon Senior), “was given to me at birth and my parent, with
their limited knowledge on these matters, love it when they did so. But through the passage of time
and acquiring new knowledge through my travels and readying, I came to the realization that a
man’s name is truly his purpose and identity on this Earth. And in fact, humans should go through
the different stages of their lives with a rebirth, taking on new names that show their levels of
overstanding of life”, He said. For example, an artist known as Assassin in his younger years is now
known as Agent Sacco, because his level of understanding of himself and his reality has changed.
Therefore, his name no longer suits his purpose. So too it is with the name Sheldon Senior and his
new name Abka Kaba. This new name is his journey through conquering lung cancer to his spiritual
rebirth.
“A European expression of me, in the form of my name, will no longer do it for me, as a man, a
spiritual being are as an artist”, he said. This change of name is a re-examining of what it means to
be an African in this new morning. So with a new lens, Abka Kaba steps forward to this new burst of
self-belief and self-love, ready to take on his duties of revealing the truth to himself. The name Abka
Kaba is actually two names in one. Abka means, the spiritual one and Kaba means, the cornerstone.
Together they both mean the spiritual cornerstone.
Abka Kaba’s new music video captures the mood and message of the song effortlessly. It’s deeply
rooted in the early 90s reggae sound of bands such as Black Uhuru and Steel Pulse with tracks like
Stepping Out with that heavy bass line, perfectly mixed with resounding in large stadiums. “Battle Axe” is
heavily laced with lyrics that cry out against the weight of political and social injustices that have been
perpetuated against countries labelled “underdeveloped” by the West. It seeks subliminally, to
awaken the oppressed and marginalized peoples of the world from that imposed dictatorial mindset.
It takes aim musically at the military of countries like The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and
other countries that have allowed corruption and greed to erode the conscience of their nations. This
song may very well serves as a rallying cry to all warriors to come to the front of this battle of good
over evil and of right from wrong. As the lyrics from the song says, “Battle Axe, them calling my
name. They say come to the front of the war, you are the savior. Battle Axe, them calling our
names. Dem say come to the front of the war you are the saint.”
Vocally Abka Kaba has always displayed his superb vocal prowess in all his songs but on this record he
has captured the truest emotions of the song in ways he hasn’t before. He moves from growling in
the lower registers of his voice to the upper scales effortlessly, with power and subtlety. It’s a well
balanced project. From the musical accompaniment to the lyrics, his vocals, and the visuals, an all-
round triumph, that should stand the test of musical times. Congratulations Abka Kaba and we look
forward to more works such as you’ve produced.
