Rasselas is an Ethiopian-born Hip-Hop artist and producer who is emerging out of Canada. His style can be described as Hip-Hop mixed with traditional Ethiopian music. Rasselas performs English and Amharic, but he also speaks French. He merges his linguistic abilities to create a fresh vibe within Hip-Hop. He has good knowledge of the international marketplace, and is quite at home in the recording studio producing, composing beats, and rapping original lyrics. He owns and operates his own record label Injera Music Inc. from his residence in Toronto.
Rasselas - Guragigna
After the release of his 2014 independent album “Injera Music”, Rasselas was nominated for Best Male Artist at the African Entertainment Awards. His latest album “Hagger Swagger (The Album)” iwas released in July 2016.
Azla Vegan is a family owned restaurant based in South Central Los Angeles. In addition to serving mama Azla's love-infused Ethiopian food, this family is passionate about sharing the rich artistic traditions of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian diaspora with the world.
Azla Sounds, Volume 1 is the first in a series of recordings presented by Azla Vegan. These recordings highlight the traditions and rich cultures of Ethiopia, as well as the various sounds and textures from the Diaspora that inform our aesthetic.
Hi there, you are about to travel ... and I mean far away, in an alternative world where OZFERTI , the nubian wizard, is bringing to you his ethiohop tracks. Coming from Addis aboumbap, 11 chapters where ethiojazz meets Jazzy boumbap, psychedelic trap, progressive Dub and spicy electro. Beware ladies and gentlemen, you will not be coming back from this journey.
11 Colorfull Reworks of Ethiojazz classics mixed with electronica / hiphop and bass music , from Mulatu Astatke to Mahmoud Ahmed.
By combining element’s of Hip-Hop and Reggae, Pamfalon’s music gives a refreshingly honest look at the everyday life struggles and the uncertainty that lies within all of us. Aside from his unique and eclectic delivery, his music offers inspiration and lyrical substance that seems to be lacking in contemporary Ethiopian music. His artistry represents a lifestyle inevitable to a globally connected society.
This marks the core of a revolution in Ethiopian Hip-Hop history. He may not be a household name yet but Pamfalon is on the fast track.
Pamfalon - Dersual
EXCLUSIVE MUSIC INTERVIEW WITH EMERGING ARTIST PAMFALON
Let’s start with where you were born and when you moved to Germany
I was born in Ethiopia. I was 8 when i moved to Germany, and that was 1994.
You have an interesting name, what does Pamfalon mean? How did you come up with it?
I was a fifth grader when we first read a story about a guy called Pamphalon. He was described as a man of this world and was an imposer. There was another man in the same story who spent most of his life on an isolated rock praising God. He was always asking God for a like-minded person. One day God sends him to Phamphalon, to make a spiritual connection. He was very sad and upset, why God would send him to Pamphalon, who seems to be very worldly. God’s response was, that he shall not look on the outside but the inside of a person. I was inspired by this story and therefore decided my alias to be Pamfalon from the first day I started to rap. Back then, I had no idea about life. The more I matured, I realized that this name was meant to be mine.
How did it all start for you, your love for making music? Did you always have a passion for music?
Growing up in a foreign country without parents, I was looking for role models that would fit to me. And those Youth Care Workers were simply not it. On the other side, there was Hip Hop which happened to rescue me. I think, it was 97 where I started rapping and fell in love with it. From then it was just a logical progress; studying the Elements of Hip Hop, and do whatever I had to do, to be “real” in terms of Hip Hop.
I have to say I was not mature yet, all the things I was rapping about was not representing what I stand for now. How can you know about life when you are 15 or 16? But I was noticing that I was blessed with some talent. Then there was a time I decided to take time from the music world, because real life was chasing me, or the other way around. Though I did not stop freestyling and so forth, my focus has slowly shifted.
Your sound is very distinctive and different, especially in your most recent songs, How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I think other people should describe it, but there are a lot of different influences in me so it just happens to be this style, my style. I like all kinds of music by now, so the genre would be Pamfalon…
Who produces your music?
Well, it is different from song to song. Sometimes I just voice a riddim I like, or friends send it to me and I voice it, or I just produce it ; all vocal recordings, compositions and mixing are done by myself. All the projects I am working on right now are produced by myself starting from the scratch. There might be a solo guitar or a brass element that a friend of mine will play for me, but 95% is done by myself.
And Qedamawi Records?
Qedamawi Records, is a Music Label that my brother and me put together. Pamfalon is not the only artist on this label. We have really good artists that will make their way within the next years. It is going to be an Ethiopian Label to release authentic music.
You like to talk about real life struggles in your music, what inspires your song writing?
Whenever I write a song, I am always inspired by life. It is just a way I get over things. I won’t just sing about an issue and leave you there without a solution, but provide it within the lyrics, hoping it inspires someone dealing with the same issues.
I learned early enough that, whenever I open my mouth and talk through a microphone, no bullshit shall I spit. The melodies and styles just come while I create.
What do you want the message in your music to be?
The one and only message I always want to get across my music is God’s existence. We Ethiopians know that, but when you grow up surrounded by non believers, you even start to doubt sometimes. So whenever I mention God in my songs, it is not like I am bragging about my spirituality, but I want to encourage other to hold on to their faith.
Another thing, which is also on my agenda, but not in many songs yet, is Ethiopianisim. It is so exciting being Ethiopian, but what does it mean being Ethiopian? I do not have the perfect formula yet, but I give my best to find it out. I think all blessings come with a task, and need a careful treat, so I want my talent to be a contribution to my people. Though I haven’t contributed anything to my country yet, it is my engine that keeps me going each day.
And of course there are some other things I sing about, all I can say is that I am just a man with emotions and feelings. I am nor perfect or the best, but I try to be as real as I can get.
If you were to describe life, how would you put it into words?
Rollercoaster!
Who are your greatest musical influences?
Probably not different from those of my Generation. But if I was forced to name just 5 : I would say Tupac.
Lastly, what would you like to get out from your music in the next few years?
I am working on my EP now, and also producing songs for other Qedmawi artists. I don’t want to put any pressure on me and talk about any deadline. It is done when it is done. Those who are following me, will now it early enough.
For the past three years, Tommy T (Thomas T Gobena) has been the bass player for gypsy punk powerhouse Gogol Bordello, the New York City-based band known for their blend of Gypsy, punk, dub reggae, metal and flamenco.
Tommy was born and raised in Ethiopia and the knowledge of global rhythms he brings to Gogol’s sound has become part of their unclassifiable approach to music making. With the encouragement of his Gogol Bordello band mates, Tommy has produced his first solo effort, The Prester John Sessions, an aural travelogue that rages freely through the music and culture of Ethiopia.
"In the 70s, funk, wah-wah pedals, and jazz had a huge impact on Ethiopian music," Tommy explains. "The Prester John Sessions will give people an idea about the musical diversity of Ethiopia, which includes influences and ideas borrowed from the sounds of the 70's with the added bonus of up-to-date production values."
Tommy discovered the story of Prester John in Graham Hancock’s book The Sign and the Seal. “Hancock was looking for the Biblical Ark of the Covenant,” Tommy says. “His quest led him around the world, from Middle East to Europe and back to Ethiopia. While doing his research, Hancock discovered the legend of Prester John. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Prester John was an unknown Christian king with massive troops that got the attention of European kings. Prester John is the character I use to symbolize the man who will bring Ethiopian culture to the rest of the world.”
To fulfill his vision, Tommy started digging through Ethiopian folk music, choosing melodies he could improvise on. He also wrote his own compositions based on traditional modes. “A lot of popular Ethiopian music is based on a 6/8 beat called chikchika, but there are also many other rhythms in Ethiopia that have their own unique characteristics. I play with The Abyssinian Roots Collective on the album. They are sometimes known as The ARC, which coincidentally ties into the Ark of the Covenant and the Prester John story. We’re mostly Ethiopian, so getting the music down was easy. I gave them the tunes, and then we improvised the arrangements so the music has an organic feel.”
Tommy composed and produced the music, with his brother Henock contributing to the tunes “Brothers” and “East-West Express.” The tracks were written at Tommy’s home studio and cut live in a couple of studios around Washington, DC and overdubs were laid down in real time with a final mix by Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave, Gogol Bordello) that gave it the feel of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters jamming with Ethiopian godfathers The Imperial Bodyguard Orchestra. The music blends Ethiopian modes with dub reggae, funk, and jazz, for a sound that’s at once familiar and mysterious.
“The Eighth Wonder” has a light, jazzy feel based on the chikchika rhythm, played in the style common to the Wollo province, home to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. “Much like the pyramids of Giza, much has been made over the 11 stone churches of Lalibela, often referred to as the “Eighth Wonder,” Tommy explains. “This track uses the chikchika beat, but expands it into other directions.” Tommy’s melodic bass weaves through the tune’s horn and Massinqo (an Ethiopian single-stringed instrument played like a violin) lines, while the drummer keeps the beat with a series of tom rolls complimenting the kick drum. Dub effects keep the instruments dancing in and out of the mix. “Beyond Fasiladas” references the Castle of the emperor Fasiladas in Gondar, Ethiopia’s capital in the 17th Century. It uses a fast, driving beat from Gondar and interpolates several traditional melodies. Massinqo, guitar and an energetic bass line give the tune a funky, relentless pulse. Setegne Setenaw plays the melody on Massinqo. “The Response” features vocals from Gigi and Tommy. It’s a love song with an almost unbearable sense of longing. Tommy plays acoustic guitar and bouzouki with a West African feel influenced by the music of Mali, although the melody is purely Ethiopian. “Eden” pays homage to the lush and raw landscapes of Ethiopia. Gigi’s wordless vocal is full of joy. The slow dubby rhythm and a muted blue flugelhorn give the track a timeless feel. “Oromo Dub (Cushitic dub)” is driven by Tommy’s phat bass riddim and revolves around traditional tunes that existed ages ago. Abdi Nuressa sings in Oromo, one of the many languages in Ethiopia, and his voice drifts through intergalactic dub space taking this ancient song into the future. The album’s ten tracks epitomize the Ethiopian ideal of Semena Worq - Wax and Gold. The wax is the surface of the music, bright and modern, with its jazzy, funky accents. The gold signifies the depth of tradition that gave birth to these sounds, nuggets culled from one of the oldest cultures on earth, presented by Tommy and his compatriots in all their shining beauty.
Tommy T was born and raised in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa. “There was always music in our house,” Tommy recalls. “When I was five, my older brother Zelalem got an acoustic guitar from my father. By the time I was six I could pick up a guitar and play what my brothers were playing.
Tommy had no intention of becoming a musician, but when his brother Henock moved to Washington DC, Tommy followed. “I looked up to him as a brother and a bass player. After he sent a copy of his first album to us in Ethiopia, I started playing acoustic guitar like a bass. When I came to the States, I got a real bass. There are over 200,000 Ethiopians in the DC metro area, so I was able to make a living playing in Ethiopian bands.”
Tommy completed a degree while playing in bands three or four nights a week. “I played in Ethiopian bands, and then started a reggae band called ADOLA which also backed many well known Ethiopian artists such as Aster Aweke and Gigi to name a few. I was also interested in other styles of music including R&B, hip-hop, and neo-soul. I worked with Wayna [Wondwossen, recently nominated for a best urban performance Grammy for her song “Lovin’ U (Music)”] and produced a couple of tracks on her Moments of Clarity album with my friend Abegasu Shiota.” While collaborating on a project with guitarist Eran Tabib, he heard Gogol Bordello was looking for a bass player familiar with international grooves.
His years with Gogol inspired Tommy to develop The Prester John Sessions, another band with a global outlook. The reggae band he and his friend Zedicus (Zakki Jawad) started in DC had evolved into The Abyssinian Roots Collective; they helped Tommy bring The Prester John Sessions to life. “I believe in music without boundaries,” Tommy says. “Music should be inclusive, not exclusive. We should use sounds from everywhere to create a universal vibe. The music business isn’t friendly to that kind of thing, but the people who hear it respond to it well. Gogol is a rock band, but the sound is global. People who love music know the best music is created without boundaries and limitations. The Prester John Sessions take that idea to the next level.”
01. Tommy T - Brothers (5:03)
02. Tommy T - The Call (4:04)
03. Tommy T - The Response (Featuring Gigi) (4:43)
04. Tommy T - The Eighth Wonder (6:51)
05. Tommy T - Oromo Dub (Cushitic Dub) (4:34)
06. Tommy T - East-West Express (4:21)
07. Tommy T - Tribute To A King (4:11)
08. Tommy T - Beyond Fasiladas (3:16)
09. Tommy T - September Blues (3:29)
10. Tommy T - Eden (Featuring Gigi) (5:53)
11. Tommy T - Lifers (Michael G Easy Star Remix feat.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, K’naan spent his childhood in the district of Wardhiigleey (”The Lake of Blood”) during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia’s most famous singers. K’naan’s grandfather, Haji Mohamed, was a poet. K’naan is also a Muslim. His name, K’naan, means “traveller” in the Somali language.
K’naan’s father, Abdi, left the country, along with many other intellectuals to settle in New York City and work as a cab driver. He mailed money home to his family. As the civil war continued and the situation in Somalia continued to deteriorate, K’naan’s mother, Marian Mohamed, petitioned the United States embassy for an exit visa. In 1991, on the last day the US embassy remained open as the government of Mohamed Siad Barre collapsed their visa was approved, and they boarded the last commercial flight out of the country.
They joined relatives in Harlem, New York City, before moving to the Toronto, Ontario neighbourhood of Rexdale, where there was a large Somali Canadian community. His family still lives there. In his new country, K’naan began learning English, some through hip hop albums by artists like Nas and Rakim. Despite speaking no English, the young K’naan taught himself hip hop and rap diction, copying the lyrics and style phonetically. He then also began rapping. He dropped out of school in grade ten to travel for a time, rapping at open mic events, and eventually returned to Toronto.
K’naan became a friend and associate of Canadian promoter, Sol Guy, who helped him secure a gig speaking before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1999, where K’naan performed a spoken word piece criticizing the UN for its failed aid missions to Somalia. One of the audience members, Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, was so impressed by the young MC’s performance and courage that he invited him to contribute to his 2001 album Building Bridges, a project through which K’naan was able to tour the world.
This project lead to his work at other UN events, as well as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Halifax Pop Explosion. It also helped him meet Canadian producer Jarvis Church and his Track & Field team in 2002, who produced his debut album The Dusty Foot Philosopher, which was released in 2005 to critical acclaim.
In 2006, it won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year, and was nominated for the inaugural Polaris Music Prize. It also won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the newcomer category for 2007. The Dusty Foot Philosopher will be re-released and re-packaged as a “Deluxe Edition” featuring new mixes and a bonus DVD in the United States (and various international territories) by the emerging media company and record label iM (Interdependent Media, Inc.) in 2008.
Since then, he has been on tour promoting his album and working on his follow-up release, “Troubadour,” his debut album for new label A&M/Octone Records. He has also been working with artists like Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, The Roots, Dead Prez, and Pharoahe Monch on tours such as Live and Breedlove Odyssey. He also collaborated with Damian Marley on the “Welcome to Jamrock” touring session.
In 2005, the Canadian music scene featured a low-key feud between K’naan and k-os, one of the most prominent Canadian hip-hop artists. Following the release of the music video for the song Soobax, which was shot by K’naan and a film crew in Kenya, k-os released a track B-Boy Stance attacking K’naan : “They took cameras to Africa for pictures to rhyme / Over; Oh, yes, the great pretenders [...] Religious entertainers who want to be life savers.” Though the feud never became high-profile, with K’naan expressing confusion at the attack and respect for k-os, he nonetheless responded with the mixtape Revolutionary Avocado which argued “You the all-knowing with a beer bottle / Wishing you was Plato and me Aristotle? / …Suburban negro turned hip-hop hero / Is there a reason he really hates me, though?” — a rebuttal CBC’s Matthew McKinnon called “cold-cocking the champ”. He recently released The Dusty Foot on the Road, a collection of recording made during his recent world tour on Wrasse Records.
His second studio album, Troubadour, was released on February 24, 2009 on A&M/Octone Records, and will be distributed through Universal Music Group worldwide. The album’s first single, “ABC’s”, was released to radio in late 2008. K’naan has featured in several video games such as “Madden NFL 09? with his song ABC’s, and “Fifa 06? with his song soobax. The song “If Rap Gets Jealous”, a rerecording of a track of the same name - with different verses - from The Dusty Foot Philosopher, features Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. K’naan was also the first featured artist on X3, a collaborative project between CBC Radio 3, Exclaim! magazine and aux.tv to promote new Canadian music.
Rapper K'Naan is one of the rapidly rising stars of world music. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, he now lives in Canada, but his experiences as a refugee and growing up in a war zone inform his lyrics with a vivid vivacity.
He's a charismatic performer on stage - as witnessed last weekend in Glastonbury - and his words have a haunting poetry: "Muslims, Jews and Christians war, no one's left to praise the Lord". K'Naan's admirers include many who are not usually interested in rap music.
This strong album includes live performances captured in both Djibouti and New York, although he should find himself a better djembe drum player to improve things musically.
01. K'naan - Wash It Down (2:15)
02. K'naan - Soobax (3:42)
03. K'naan - What's Hardcore? (3:36)
04. K'naan - My Old Home (3:06)
05. K'naan - Moment (0:10)
06. K'naan - I Was Stabbed By Satan (3:50)
07. K'naan - My God (0:22)
08. K'naan - Smile (4:03)
09. K'naan - If Rap Gets Jealous (4:18)
10. K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher (3:56)
11. K'naan - Strugglin' (4:25)
12. K'naan - In The Beginning (3:21)
13. K'naan - Hoobaale (5:05)
14. K'naan - The African Way (feat. Mwafrika) (4:20)
15. K'naan - Voices In My Head (4:00)
16. K'naan - Boxing My Shadow (4:29)
17. K'naan - For Mohamound (Soviet) (0:32)
18. K'naan - Until The Lion Learns To Speak (8:55)
