Tedashii will release his fourth studio album, Below Paradise, on May 27 through Reach Records. The album arrives three years after Blacklight and follows a year marked by the death of his 1-year-old son.
The loss reshaped Tedashii’s view of grief, faith and the language people use when suffering becomes personal.
“In March of 2013, I had the worst day of my life,” Tedashii said. “The loss of my son changed me forever. I experienced grief and sorrow to the depth of my soul.”
He said familiar phrases such as “It’s all good” and “It’ll be OK” began to sound empty. Instead of hiding that conflict, Tedashii built the album around it.
Below Paradise examines pain, family, fatherhood and the tension between a harsh world and a loving God. Tedashii describes the record as a public journal rather than an attempt to package grief into simple answers.
“This album is my journal shared publicly with everyone during this difficult journey as I worked to understand all I felt, experienced and believed,” he said. “I am human, I am hurt, I am His.”
‘Below Paradise’ Moves Beyond Grief
The 14-track album does not remain in one emotional or musical space. Tedashii recorded it in Atlanta and Dallas, drawing from experiences that shaped him before and after his son’s death.
The songs address his years as a football player, poet and marching-band member in high school. They also reflect on meeting his father for the first time, feeling like an outsider and becoming a Christian during college.
Guest appearances include Lecrae, Trip Lee, Britt Nicole, Crowder, Andy Mineo and Royal Tailor.
The first single, “Dark Days, Darker Nights,” features Britt Nicole. The song received more than 50,000 YouTube views within days of its release, according to the announcement.
King Kulture previously examined how the single presents grief without rushing toward an easy resolution in “Tedashii Opens His Grief Journal on ‘Dark Days, Darker Nights.’”
Tedashii Joins the Summer Shed Tour
Tedashii will perform new material from Below Paradise during the Summer Shed Tour with TobyMac, Skillet and Lecrae.
- May 1 — Austin, Texas — Austin360 Amphitheater
- May 2 — Oklahoma City — Zoo Amphitheatre
- May 3 — Rio Rancho, New Mexico — Santa Ana Star Center
- May 4 — Denver — Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- May 8 — Little Rock, Arkansas — First Security Amphitheater
- May 9 — St. Louis — Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
- May 10 — Memphis, Tennessee — Mud Island Amphitheater
Below Paradise will be available May 27 through Reach Records. The video for “Dark Days, Darker Nights” is available now on YouTube.