Shadeeka Daughma Is One Out Of Many, For Now.
- George
- Jul 3
- 2 min read
Guitarist Shadeeka 'Shadz' Daughma @shadzdaughma is one of a precious few women instrumentalists touring and recording music at the top level in Jamaica. She aims to change that. Photos by @donalddelahaye .
Although her high school did not offer proper music training, mentorship from legendary guitarist, and Kingston neighbour, the late Winston 'Bo Pee' Bowen, provided Shadz the tools to get better, and get into college. “I didn't know what I was playing but [Bo Pee] showed me every single thing to do and that got me into college,” she recalls, “and then I started to get actual lessons.”
While Shadz agrees being the only woman on stage is good for band business, the lack of women in music, she says, is part of a broader public trend.
"I have male friends whose family do not support them being musicians. Imagine now, a girl."
However, Shadz is confident she can help more girls make music into a rewarding career. Listen to the Jamaica Nice. Audio with Shadz...
A Portland native, and country girl at heart, Shadz has been adding new cities to the gram and new countries to her passport ever since. Three years spent touring and recording with Jimmy Cliff led to memorable stints with Dexta Daps, Luciano and Sizzla as well as regular work with bands like Warrior Love and Street Code. Now she's doing production.
"I play a lot of rock reggae on the production side," says Shadz, "mostly reggae modern dancehall pop stuff. There is a lot of reggae in that modern dancehall sound".
Listen to Shadz guitar on Jimmy Cliff's "Refugees " and "Vibe With Me" by Salim Browne.
