Protoje is releasing the visual for “1000 Lashes” featuring Stephen Marley this Thursday at 9am on YouTube, and the location alone makes this one worth paying attention to.
The video was filmed at the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia a deliberate choice that ties the music directly to one of Africa’s most celebrated moments of resistance.
The Battle of Adwa, fought on March 1, 1896, saw Ethiopian forces defeat Italian invaders, making it a defining symbol of African sovereignty and a touchstone for the broader diaspora, particularly within Rastafari culture.
For Protoje and Stephen Marley to plant a video there isn’t a casual aesthetic decision it’s a statement with deep roots in the tradition both artists come from. The connection between Jamaica and Ethiopia runs long and runs serious.
Protoje credited Endy Tours Ethiopia with making the shoot happen, giving a shoutout that suggests this wasn’t a quick, logistical drop-in but something that required real coordination on the ground.
That kind of acknowledgment matters, especially when artists are working in spaces that carry cultural and historical weight beyond their own backyard.
On the production side, “1000 Lashes” was produced by Winta James alongside Universvl, who is listed as EXILED with a Jamaican flag, and Jake Hogan.
Winta James has built a reputation as one of the more thoughtful producers working in the reggae space right now, so his involvement signals a certain intentionality in the sound.
The combination of producers here spans geography and sensibility in a way that should be interesting to hear play out.
Recording was handled by Fumiaki Ogata, with mixing credits going to Niko Marzouca and Robert Marks a full, properly assembled team behind what Protoje is clearly treating as more than a routine release.
The level of craft listed in the credits suggests this has been in the works for a while, not something rushed out.
Stephen Marley’s presence on the track adds another layer entirely. As a Marley, he carries a lineage that’s inseparable from the very history being honored at Adwa, and his collaborations tend to carry weight with both reggae purists and wider audiences who grew up on that legacy.
Pairing him with Protoje, who has consistently pushed the sound forward while staying grounded in its roots, makes for a combination that fans of both artists have been waiting to see more of.
The Adwa Memorial Museum as a backdrop will likely resonate differently depending on who’s watching. For Rastafari communities and those steeped in Pan-African history, it’s a charged and deeply meaningful setting.
For a more casual viewer, it’s a striking visual environment that might prompt them to look deeper into what that location actually represents.
The video drops this Thursday, and the conversation around it is already starting to build.
