What some Eritreans think when #Ethiopian singers, especially Amharic singers, steal or copy their songs is just beyond a matter of art itself. However, some of the Tigrigna songs mentioned and alleged as copied by Ethiopian Tigrigna singers in Eritrean blog post I happen to read are common folk properties of the two Tigrigna speaking people of Eritrea & Ethiopia. Even some of them are original works of Ethiopian Tigrigna singers. A few minutes visit to Youtube tells us artistic products of the legendary Ethiopian artist Gebretsadik Wolde-Yohannes are the favorite targets of Eritrean singers. The famous song of Gebretsadik Hadar Gerki is a good example to support our case. What s motivating Ethiopian singers to copy Eritrean songs? Heres what an Eritrean writers take on the matter: ... For example, Teddy Afro, the Britney Spears of Ethiopia, regularly mentions Eritrea and Eritreans in his music and at his concerts. He sings about Eritrean and Ethiopian families being split by Eritreas independence (Dahlak song), how beautiful Eritrean women are (Fiyorina song) and sings about unity between both countries all behind a shield of love music to spread subtle messages against Eritreas independence. Keep in mind, this is a man who sees Haile Selassie, a ruthless tyrant who is responsible for the deaths hundreds of thousands of Eritreans and Ethiopians, as a hero. So it shouldnt come as a surprise that Teddy and other Ethiopian musicians like him, are using love songs and the media as a cover to spread their subtle anti-Eritrean independence gospel. Its a tactic Ethiopian politicians have perfected over the years.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 20:58:47 +0000