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A rising star Zeritu Kebede, a.k.a. Baby, is one of a new breed of young and enthusiastic Ethiopian singers. The diminutive artist attended elementary school at the Lazarist Mission, a Catholic school, and then joined Bethel Mekane Yesus. She first appeared on a music clip with a theme of awareness creation about HIV/AIDS, entitled Mela Mela. Ever since then, the public has been eagerly awaiting her debut album, which is going to be released next week. Our reporter Selome Kifle had a chat with Zeritu. Excerpts: Capital: What can the public expect from your first album? Zeritu Kebede: I modestly tell the public to expect good songs, songs that are different from the ones that have come out before. It is an album that we – me and Elias Melka – have really worked hard on. I think it is a great album and I believe the audience will enjoy it. What do you mean by a different album? I think it is different because I am new and I did not try to imitate any artists that came before me. I sang what I like to hear when I listen to music. You say that you put your album together the way you like. Did you in any way try to assess what the audience wanted to hear? I don’t think the songs that I wrote or the songs that we have recorded are totally odd to the audience; but still I don’t believe the album resembles any previous albums. I don’t do music that way. I write for myself. I write for myself and I think people will enjoy that. Can you summarize the main theme or message of your first album? I raised different issues with varying song writing and composition. How long did you work on it? It took me a year and half. Why did it take that long? I don’t think it is that long. What kind of music styles did you incorporate in your album? […laughing…] I don’t know. When are you going to release it? Next week, probably Thursday. Do you have any role model/s, in and out of Ethiopia? No one in particular. I admire different singers, different musicians even different types of music. and I am not that much selective. And I think I don’t have any role models. Which foreign music group or personality do you admire? The same answer […..laughing….] there are so many and I can’t choose one. Would you say that there a rebirth of Ethiopian music at present; a kind of explosion in artistic or musical creativity and talent? If so, do you think it is the best we can do? There is a visible improvement. I am not a musician and I am not a critic. I am only part of the audience. Hence, I can’t say much about it. Nevertheless, talking of the whole local music industry, you can notice that there are many positive changes; for instance, there are so many singers striving to make it. I don’t think we are at a peak. I feel that we can do better and it is a promising start. Why did you name your album Zeritu? It is because people always get surprised by the name ‘Zeritu’ and I can’t understand why. I don’t think there is anything special or wrong with the name. I actually like my name so much that I named my album Zeritu. It was meant to represent me, Zeritu. Not the educated, trained Zeritu; but rather the talented Zeritu. People say that you have a great voice. Are you naturally gifted or did you go to a music school? I did not go to any music school. Can we say that you are naturally gifted? Yes I am naturally talented [laughing]. Do you think the new breed of local composers and producers has played a role in the evolution of Ethiopian music? I think so. […hmm…] I think we were listening to a different type of music two, three years aback. I think music makers and arrangers like Elias have played a big role. If we are talking about producers, I don’t think there are producers here that we can call producers in the real sense of the word. Most things are done traditionally. What barriers does a singer who is new to the scene face in the Ethiopian music industry? Frankly I haven’t faced many barriers. But I had to work in clubs to publicize my self and get the attention of the public. It is not like what everybody thinks because to go through all these steps and to release your work on time requires a good ambiance; you need to have a good mood to endure the ups and downs. The challenges call for a strong personality and a belief in what you do. But, at the end of the day, you have to be lucky to find qualified arrangers, good lyrics and good music. But the main thing is that we don’t have professional producers; we don’t have talent search institutions that can help talented artists discover their innate gifts. In our case, we run around to find producers and arrangers by ourselves. When did you start to get interested in music? Music has been a part of me since I was nine or ten. In those days it was just like some sort of a hideaway from books. It was the other thing I did, apart from education. We used to sing spiritual songs at elementary school. Music is the only thing I did since the moment I first heard the phrase, ‘you have a great voice; you should be a singer.’ Can we say you found your talent there? No. I think my talent developed after fifth grade when my talent was discovered by my Math teacher. And then, we formed a group. The Spice Girls came, remember. We wanted to be like them. We believed in ‘girl power’ as they did. We then started to write songs and practice at my home. So, the Spice Girls somehow inspired you? I knew I was going to be a singer before I heard the Spice Girls. There are other singers I used to listen to. However, I took action when the Spice Girls came. Did you get any support from your family? In truth, no one encouraged me. But they did not deny that I could sing. My family is a kind of family that gives you freedom to do what you want to do. The only difference was that they had confidence in what I wanted to do and didn’t think that I wouldn’t make it. So they never tried to stop me. We first saw you in the song Mela Mela, a song about the scourge of AIDS and what should be done. Why did you take part in the song? The song writer, Mikael Belayneh, was my contact person. How did he discover your talent? We met when I was recording my album at Elias’ studio as he, too, was working on his album, Ante Godanna. So he thought I should be part of that very realistic song. Did you write the lyrics for your songs? I wrote the lyrics for ten songs in the album; one song was written by Abinet Agonafir, a popular Ethiopian singer, and another one by Elias and me. How many copies are you going to distribute? I don’t know. That is will be decided by the recording company, Voice Records. Currently ETV has started a talent search program. Do you think that will encourage young singers? I think it will. It is good that the stage is provided. But I really wish that it was done based on further research and more preparation. They still need to invite more and more producers and arrangers. What do you have to say on copyright issues? I think it is not an easy thing to solve the problem. We shouldn’t expect it all to go right away. But I really wish that everyone buys original CDs. What feedback or comments did you get on the TV production of yoursong Endaygelegn? My friends really liked it and are still enjoying it. In your songs, you seem to mimic the likes of Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin? I didn’t choose any music style. I just sing my songs. I don’t know much about styles. I just do what I myself like to see and listen. I heard that you are a Liverpool fan. Who is your favorite Liverpool player ever? Steve McManaman Why McManaman? The ball looks good on him. Since when did you support the Reds? Since I was a little girl, even before I started reading words. I just started watching TV and there they were with their red shirts. What was your reaction when Liverpool snatched the Champions League trophy last season from favorites AC Milan? Oh so good. The waiting had been too long, you know. Do you expect them to win any major trophy this season? I hope so. Letter to the editor Advise to ESFNA and Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi I have been following Ethiopian Soccer Federation in North America (ESFNA) for the last 16 or 17 years. I attended the Atlanta tournament this year and found it to be well organized and a great venue. It has really come a long way. I read the recent ESFNA press release with great interest that mentioned the generous contribution of Sheikh Mohamed Al-Amoudi in the amount of $450.000 in 2002. This was not the first time the great Sheikh made such a contribution. I am personally aware of many other such contributions he has made including around $100,000 in 1994, and many more to individual teams in the Washington DC metropolitan area. It is also rumored that he has pledged $200,000 to cover the expenses for 2005. Unfortunately the pledged amount almost never gets delivered on time. This is because of the middle man/men involved supposedly “working” for the Sheikh who often wants to play god out of a kind gesture and wealth of somebody else. These individuals pretend to be the Sheikh when ever he is not around. I have seen them how they act in his presence it is like night and day. I understand the Sheikh is a busy man and can not be expected to pay close attention to such matters that are probably miniscule in his perception; therefore they are delegated to his advisors who always use such opportunities to further their own self interests (I am being politically correct here). The bottom line is ESFNA ~ received close to a million dollar over a period of time, but ha ving received so much money from this generous man over the years there is nothing tangible to show for it all. The famous Chinese proverb states “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. In the same spirit I would like to propose to ESFNA that his future contributions should be used to build a stadium, named after him, where the tournaments can be held each year without much expense. This stadium can be built on either the West or East coast. This stadium will add to the prestige of ESFNA. In addition it can generate revenue through out the year by hosting tournaments and other activities such as concerts as wel l as provide meaningful jobs to Ethiopians. In the end I would like to implore Sheikh Mohamed Al-Amoudi to use his good name for building great institutions and not spend his money on individuals who place their own interests ahead of those of the community. Zegeye Mekonnen zmaki86@yahoo.com
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Of
The Week
Tuesday
August 30, 2005
