A verified legend of African pop music, Mahmoud Ahmed led the wave of Ethiopian music’s ‘golden age’ in the 60s-70s with his notoriously energetic combination of traditional Amharic music with soul, jazz & funk. His multi-octave voice made him household name in Ethiopia, and a star since nearly the moment he started recording, though this […]

The ninth edition of Africa’s biggest reality series BIG BROTHER AFRICA kicks off in September and already fans are asking…who will the new housemates be? Who will find their names and their faces gracing newspapers? Who will become the subject of drive time radio and just who will find themselves trending on all social media […]

Auction brings out more some 200 unpublished pictures.Singer, songwriter, actor — King of Pop. Michael Jackson was all this and more in a career that spanned more than 40 years. Jackson’s life has been thoroughly documented, but from June 21-22, Hollywood-based Premiere props, which bills itself as the “World’s Largest Entertainment Memorabilia Store,” is auctioning […]

Until the last second of the opening ceremony of the World Cup. We issued a press release on May 31,2014 regarding our position on the unwarranted prevention of the release of the Ethiopian Version of the World Cup Anthem. So far, Coca Cola or its Agent, Manadala TV, have not given us any response although […]

Solomon Belay, director of the Entoto Observatory and Research Centre, stands on the right-hand side of one of the observatory’s two telescopes situated in the Entoto Mountains, overlooking the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Credit: James Jeffrey/IPS ADDIS ABABA, Jun 6 2014 (IPS) – High up in the eucalyptus-strewn Entoto Mountains, which overlook the Ethiopian capital, […]

New York (TADIAS) — The Coca-Cola Company, headquartered in Atlanta, responded to queries regarding the unreleased, Ethiopian version of Coke’s FIFA World Cup song performed by Teddy Afro. Coca Cola confirmed that Teddy’s contract was handled by a third party, Mandala Limited, a Kenyan production company based in Nairobi. “Teddy Afro was brought into our […]

Introducing Marian Mereba…’Gimme The Light’ Acoustic Performance + Exclusive Q&A! With the SOUL she has in her, and her unique tone (and rapping skills!), no wonder whyMarian Mereba captivates her audience every time she performs live. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Marian Mereba has her heart divided in three. One piece is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, […]

Jacky Gossy’s single debut “Sela” has got a wide acceptance when it was released. And it was with this single release that the singer got acceptance in the recent Ethiopian music scene. Recently, as the information got from the FM radio entertainment program Tadias Addis indicates Akon had become fascinated with the “Sela” single and […]

The International Turkish Education Association’s (TÜRKÇEDER) Language and Culture Festival, which brought together 95 students from 27 countries under the motto “Hearts United,” was held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa over the weekend. The festival was an updated version of the Turkish Olympiads and it took place outside Turkey for the first time, […]

As the Ethiopian film industry grows, Ethiopian Film Initiative (EFI) founder (and Swedish filmmaker) Ragnhild Ek says there is also a rise in the number of female filmmakers in the African country. She refers in part to the carefully selected group of young Ethiopian filmmakers that are each year brought to the Cannes Film Festival […]

The renowned African-American hip-hop artist/actor, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), is in Addis Ababa along with more than 100 writers, poets, musicians, filmmakers and artists as part of a discussion entitled “Africa Re-imagination Creative Hub (ARCH): Developing the identity, heritage, arts and culture chapter for Agenda 2063,” which is being held at the […]

Colombian pop sensation Shakira has released her new Brazil 2014 World Cup Anthem ‘La La La (Brazil 2014)’. For the video, Shakira has recruited her partner Gerard Pique, fellow Barcelona players Cesc Fabregas, Lionel Messi and Neymar, Eric Abidal – who didn’t make the France squad for the tournament – and even her son, Milan. […]

This past Sunday I finally got a chance to check out the Ethiopian bar/restaurant CLUB ZION in Itaewon! I’ve been wanting to go for ages, like for years, but then at one point they stopped serving food all together so I gave up. But then they recently reopened the restaurant, so I couldn’t wait to […]

“She picks up speed whenever she’s sinking/ uses that steam to make it up mountains/that’s how they know her/ the rolling stoner…” – Rolling Stoner, Room For Living EP The “Rolling Stoner” everybody needs to know is Marian Mereba. The 24-year-old Ethiopian-American readily embraces what so many fight: change and the evolution of self. I […]

I recall when we first reported on this initiative, in 2012. Three filmmakers were selected that inaugural year: Henok Mebratu, Olisarali Olibui Tongolu and Yidnekachew Shumete, whose feature film Nishan, screened Stateside at both the Pan African Film Festival in LA, and the African Diaspora Film Festival in New York. This year, 2014, 5 filmmakers […]

Miss Ethiopia beauty contest held in Addis The sixth edition of the Miss Ethiopia beauty contest was held the previous Friday at Capital hotel. At this year’s edition, Nardos Tegegene from Gojam, representing the Amhara Regional State, won the title of Miss Ethiopia. The beauty contest comprised 18 young women representing seven regions of Ethiopia. […]