Ethiopia: Obituary - in Memoriam of Elias Melka: a Man Larger Than Life

opinion

Addis Abeba October 20/2019 - Riding in the blue and white mini-buses in Addis is rarely quiet. The drivers play music all day; some from the radio and others from CDs or mp3 players with the latest and greatest of Ethiopian music. For many what this latest and greatest of Ethiopian music can vary week after week. Songs skyrocket to popularity and then disappear without a trace in just a few weeks, giving way to the newest incarnation.

But some songs hold out. They hold out long enough to define a movement, a culture and a generation; no one produced as many of these defining genres as the late Elias Melka. What those Radio DJs know, and the mini-bus drivers agree with is that an Elias Melka creation is always Ethiopian music at its best.

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