Gabriel Teodros denied access into London

We just spoke with local hip hop artist Gabriel Teodros who was denied access into London despite the fact that he had been invited by the University of Kent to perform at a conference.

"I had been working and planning (the trip) for so many months," Teodros said. "I felt like I was letting my Seattle community down."

Teodros had scheduled shows in England, Germany and France. From there he had planned to fly to Ethiopia with a group of Ethiopian artists living in North America. But now he is in New York, where he was exported, trying to save enough money to at least get to Ethiopia.  

The reason authorities gave for denying Teodros entrance to England was that he did not have sufficient funds to be there, although they would not tell him how much money he needed.  

It was the first time Teodros was arrested or finger printed, he said. When he was detained, Teodros noticed the officers had a thick file filled with information about him, including a Wikipedia article.

"It was one of the most powerless feelings I've ever had."

Still, the artist says he is keeping his head up, and calls the event "a blessing." He is now renting an apartment/recording studio from a friend in New York and has the chance to make music on his own time.

Teodros' trip to Ethiopia is a mission of the Arba Minch Collective, a group of 17 artists of Ethiopian descent that plan to journey together and attend the 1000 Stars Festival in Arba Minch this December.

You can learn more about Gabriel Teodros on his blog.

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Photo courtesy Gabriel Teodros, taken by Dean Zulich.