Two US based Ethiopian-born musicians are among the 2009 Grammy Award nominees. Wayna (born Wayna Wondwossen, featured on AfricanLoft, April 20, 2008), and Kenna (born Kenna Zemedkun) are both nominated for the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category.
Wayna’s remake tune, Lovin U (featuring Kokayi, watch a live performance of the song ») highlights the ups and downs of the music business through the eyes of an independent recording artist. The song got the nomination for Category 27 on the Grammy List.
For Kenna, his nomination came via “Say Goodbye to Love” — a very-retro, funkified video performance, Watch video »
Wayna attributes her Grammy nomination to the combined power of new media outlets like iTunes and CDBaby.com: “As an independent recording artist, its hard to get enough publicity without the backing of a major record label. The bulk of my records have been sold at shows and on-line through iTunes and CDBaby.”
Her life in Washington DC exposed her to the problems facing immigrant communities. In her song “Home” from the album Higher Ground, Wayna includes a verse about a woman who left home “and a sense of belonging” for the prospect of better economic opportunity.
“So many Ethiopians deeply miss and love their homeland. No matter how acclaimated they’ve become abroad, they feel an aching for that place where they’re completely understood, without effort or explaination. The song, “Home,” is a testament to them and to that longing, which is something I think any person or culture can relate to.”
Kenna is the eldest son of an immigrant family grew up in Cincinnati, and Virginia Beach, according to his entry on Wikipedia. Kenna began to express an interest in music upon receiving a copy of U2’s The Joshua Tree. The way he was discovered and the obstacles he faced to land a record deal are briefly discussed in Malcolm Gladwell’s 2005 book Blink. He attended the same Virginia Beach high school as Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of N*E*R*D and the Neptunes.
The nomination is a first for the Grammy Awards, no time had two Ethiopian Americans nominated under the same category. “I am thrilled that Kenna and I are nominated in the same year” Wayna stated. “I hope it sends a message to young Ethiopians that there is no goal beyond our reach.”
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, June 12, 2008
New York Based Ethiopian Model to Revamp Historical Relic
The century old traditional house of Dejazmach Ayalew Emiru is to be handed over to Liya Kebede, a super model residing in New York. Feleke Yimer, deputy general manager of the city, has, on June 2, 2008, instructed the city Housing Development Project Office to furnish condominium housing to 24 head of households who are currently occupying the building.
The decision to grant the historical house to Liya was made by Berhane Deressa, former mayor of the city, during his last days in office. The house is located in Kirkos District, Kebele 02/03, behind the Cameroon Embassy off Africa Avenue (Bole Road).
“The one-storey building is not in a good form now,” says Worku Ambaye, who has been staying in the house since 1974. “Rain leaks into the house. It is because I have no better option that I am living here with four of my children.”
Every household has a single or two rooms. Although the house was initially put up with lumber, the residents have been overhauling it with corrugated iron sheets.
What are considered as historical relics in the city master plan are 33 churches, two mosques, 73 houses of former chiefs, 2 institutions, and 17 monuments, trenches and bridges.
The city has plans to outsource such houses to private investors that would like to use them as galleries, hotels or exhibition and bazaar spots. Thus, Dejazmach Ayalew’s was granted to the famous Ethiopian model. Dejazmach is a military title meaning commander of the central body of traditional Ethiopian armed forces. Dejazmach, who died forty years ago, was the leader in the fight against Italy.
Liya’s plan is to revamp the houses a bid to make it a hub for tourists, according to those who were exposed to her proposal.
Liya was born and raised in Addis Abeba. While she was attending Lycee Guebremariam, she was introduced to a French modeling agent. After completing her studies, she moved to France to pursue work through a Parisian agency. She later relocated to New York City. For her 2.5 million dollars earning in July 2007, Forbes named her the eleventh in the list of the world’s 15 top earning models.
http://www.addisfortune.com/New%20York%20Based%20Ethiopian%20Model%20to%20Revamp%20Historical%20Relic.htm
The decision to grant the historical house to Liya was made by Berhane Deressa, former mayor of the city, during his last days in office. The house is located in Kirkos District, Kebele 02/03, behind the Cameroon Embassy off Africa Avenue (Bole Road).
“The one-storey building is not in a good form now,” says Worku Ambaye, who has been staying in the house since 1974. “Rain leaks into the house. It is because I have no better option that I am living here with four of my children.”
Every household has a single or two rooms. Although the house was initially put up with lumber, the residents have been overhauling it with corrugated iron sheets.
What are considered as historical relics in the city master plan are 33 churches, two mosques, 73 houses of former chiefs, 2 institutions, and 17 monuments, trenches and bridges.
The city has plans to outsource such houses to private investors that would like to use them as galleries, hotels or exhibition and bazaar spots. Thus, Dejazmach Ayalew’s was granted to the famous Ethiopian model. Dejazmach is a military title meaning commander of the central body of traditional Ethiopian armed forces. Dejazmach, who died forty years ago, was the leader in the fight against Italy.
Liya’s plan is to revamp the houses a bid to make it a hub for tourists, according to those who were exposed to her proposal.
Liya was born and raised in Addis Abeba. While she was attending Lycee Guebremariam, she was introduced to a French modeling agent. After completing her studies, she moved to France to pursue work through a Parisian agency. She later relocated to New York City. For her 2.5 million dollars earning in July 2007, Forbes named her the eleventh in the list of the world’s 15 top earning models.
http://www.addisfortune.com/New%20York%20Based%20Ethiopian%20Model%20to%20Revamp%20Historical%20Relic.htm
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Chris Tucker to make a movie in Ethiopia
ENA) — The famous American Actor, Chris Tucker is thinking to do a movie in Ethiopia, his favorite African country where he considers as “a second home”.
The actor who was among more than 200 delegates who paid a two-day visit to Ethiopia before heading to Arusha, Tanzania, for the 8th summit of Leon H. Sullivan Foundation transplanted tree in Ethiopia on Friday.
Chris Tucker told ENA on the spot that “Hopefully, I can come back and do a movie. I have to figure out.”
He said “I love Ethiopia. It is my favorite African country. Because of the history… it is just beautiful and the people are beautiful and nice.”
He said “I am happy to be here, this is like my second home.”
“Hopefully I can come back in a year or two …and just show that Ethiopia has so much beautiful greenery. This is a great, great flourishing land.”
“This is my second time (to be in Ethiopia). I am looking forward to coming back. On my first time, I didn’t go out the countryside. Today we went out a little further out. And see beautiful trees and hills. That was really nice,” he said.
Another member of the delegation, CB Hackworth, is also planning to come back to Ethiopia on a film documentary project on Ethiopia.
He said he wanted to stopover before heading to Arusha for a number of reasons, one of which is because he “…wanted to have some meeting here to discuss the possibility of doing a film here in Ethiopia.”
“What we do … is we tell positive stories about Africa,” he said.
According to him, what people outside of Africa know about the continent is what they are told by the media. Mostly, he said, the international media make Africa look a bad place, which he observed is not the true story of Africa.
“People in the US don’t realize they can visit a beautiful city like Addis that there are wonderful hotels and it is peaceful, that they are safe, if people come to know this then they will visit. And it will increase tourism and help the economy. So that is what we are trying to do with the film.”
“We are trying to find positive stories,” he said adding, the initiative of Ethiopia to replenish its lost forest resources in connection with its millennium celebration, which he considers as a wonderful way of marking the millennium, is a positive story.
He said “… News is something happening. For large news organizations, they don’t rush out and spend money and resources to report good things are happening. They rush out and spend money and resources to tell you about a war or a famine. If things are going good they generally don’t consider that news. We are trying to bring some balance to that and say there is more to the world. There is more to Africa.”
“Ethiopia is very civilized. Ethiopia also fought against colonialism. So unlike a lot of parts of Africa, Ethiopia really was able to put its own imprint on its own country. So a lot of your developments are from Ethiopians. So I think that is unique, I think that is something that people who visit will find very interesting,” he said
The actor who was among more than 200 delegates who paid a two-day visit to Ethiopia before heading to Arusha, Tanzania, for the 8th summit of Leon H. Sullivan Foundation transplanted tree in Ethiopia on Friday.
Chris Tucker told ENA on the spot that “Hopefully, I can come back and do a movie. I have to figure out.”
He said “I love Ethiopia. It is my favorite African country. Because of the history… it is just beautiful and the people are beautiful and nice.”
He said “I am happy to be here, this is like my second home.”
“Hopefully I can come back in a year or two …and just show that Ethiopia has so much beautiful greenery. This is a great, great flourishing land.”
“This is my second time (to be in Ethiopia). I am looking forward to coming back. On my first time, I didn’t go out the countryside. Today we went out a little further out. And see beautiful trees and hills. That was really nice,” he said.
Another member of the delegation, CB Hackworth, is also planning to come back to Ethiopia on a film documentary project on Ethiopia.
He said he wanted to stopover before heading to Arusha for a number of reasons, one of which is because he “…wanted to have some meeting here to discuss the possibility of doing a film here in Ethiopia.”
“What we do … is we tell positive stories about Africa,” he said.
According to him, what people outside of Africa know about the continent is what they are told by the media. Mostly, he said, the international media make Africa look a bad place, which he observed is not the true story of Africa.
“People in the US don’t realize they can visit a beautiful city like Addis that there are wonderful hotels and it is peaceful, that they are safe, if people come to know this then they will visit. And it will increase tourism and help the economy. So that is what we are trying to do with the film.”
“We are trying to find positive stories,” he said adding, the initiative of Ethiopia to replenish its lost forest resources in connection with its millennium celebration, which he considers as a wonderful way of marking the millennium, is a positive story.
He said “… News is something happening. For large news organizations, they don’t rush out and spend money and resources to report good things are happening. They rush out and spend money and resources to tell you about a war or a famine. If things are going good they generally don’t consider that news. We are trying to bring some balance to that and say there is more to the world. There is more to Africa.”
“Ethiopia is very civilized. Ethiopia also fought against colonialism. So unlike a lot of parts of Africa, Ethiopia really was able to put its own imprint on its own country. So a lot of your developments are from Ethiopians. So I think that is unique, I think that is something that people who visit will find very interesting,” he said
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