Born in St. Mary, Jamaica WI. Migrated to America in the 1980's and lived in the borough of Brooklyn New York. Shabaka attended Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, formerly Jamaica School of Art and Crafts, then received his BFA from Pratt Institute in 1984. In 1999, Shabaka produced Units of the Free, a commissioned work for the MTA, and installed at the Park Place subway station in Brooklyn. Shabaka currently lives and maintain his studio in Ghana, West Africa.