I put together a Spotify playlist for you to get in the mood with me.
CHECK IT OUT HERE
This playlist features some of my favorite artists who helped inspire and uplift me through out my creation process. Who might you ask are some of these artists? Well I'll tell you about some of my personal favorites.
BEZUNESH BEKELE
Bizunesh Bekele was an Ethiopian soul singer who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bizunesh was born in 1936 and came into popularity in 1960's -70s. She sang in Amharic and was often referred to as the "Aretha Franklin of Ethiopia". She made many appearances with the Imperial Body Guard Band or the Dahlak Band.
LIJADU SISTERS
This dynamic set of twins were born in Northern Nigeria in 1948. Yoruba in ethnicity, Taiwo and Kehinde's names describe the spiritual arrival of the Ibeyi. Their inherent synchronicity lead them to become pioneers in Nigeria's Afro-beat movement in the 60's and 70's.
HAILU MERGIA
Hailu Mergia is an Ethiopian musician who was born Showa province, and then later moved to Addis Ababab. He grew up on traditional Oromo, Amhara and Tigrinya songbook melodies, and taught himself the accordion age 14. In the 1970s, Hailu Mergia was the keyboardist in the Walias Band. Over the course of Mengistu's rule, the DERG government imposed breaks to Addis Ababa's nightlife which limited a lot of the music of the time, as well as heavy censorship laws. Mergia eventually moved to the USA where he still makes music today.
EBO TAYLOR
Born in 1936, Ebo Taylor is a revolutionary Ghanaian guitarist, composer, bandleader, record producer and arranger focusing on highlife and afrobeat music. Ebo Taylor has been a pivotal figure on the Ghanaian music scene for over six decades. In the late '50s he was active in the influential highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band.