Saba Kahsay, Ethiopian soul singer and engineer

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Saba Kahsay, Ethiopian soul singer and engineer

11 January 2012 4 Comments

Saba Kahsay

By Samuel Getachew

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it seems every street has multiple names in addition to an official name given by the city government. When one takes a contract taxi, it might be much easier to know a major hotel or a new high-rise building or the residence of a celebrity to help identify one’s destination.

In a city where an official map is rarely used to identify a location, finding the Dreamliner Hotel for my interview with talented young soul artist Saba Kahsay was a challenge.

It took me a while to find the hotel until I made a random phone call to a colleague and was told that it was near Bole Road near the Le Parisian cafe - near the Meskel Flower Hotel that I knew from my youth.

Over 15 minutes late, I enter the grand entrance of the hotel lobby after an inspection by the guards. In an area known for cheap nightclubs coupled with unhealthy fast food restaurants, the hotel stands tall and elegant. Inside the hotel is Kahsay, an engineer in the daytime and an aspiring musician on occasions.

Saba is seated elegantly in the middle of the hotel bar, with black coffee on one hand and a sparkling Apple computer on the table. She greets me warmly as I apologize for being terribly late. She stares me in the eye like a determined young person she is, perhaps a gift she had acquired while at the Addis Ababa University, where she was a busy student leader, and forgives me for my lateness and opens her life story in a heart beat.

At the Addis Ababa University where she was a stellar student, she also served as the local president of AIESEC – the largest student managed movement that describes itself as “”the international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential.” As its leading volunteer, she was a delegate in its international conference in Rome as part of the 200 delegates that came from all over the world in 2009.

As a young engineer, she has been part of a project that involves highly competent professionals to “prove the qualities of alternative construction materials in a high quality approaches.”

This project was sponsored by the Embassy of Germany with the goal of finding solutions in finding an alternative way to help curb housing issues while incorporating local technologies. Her start in Addis Ababa just over a decade ago was not as rosy as she makes it look through out her professional success.

At barely 16, she was kicked out of Asmara, Eritrea, during the 1998 war for being an Ethiopian. Leaving her past behind as well as middle class life, she made her way to a city where she barely knew anyone as a refugee. In a perseverance that is perhaps found only in real human challenge, not only did she succeed in graduating with a university degree, but she also launched a respectful musical career that is making her noticed all over Addis as well as on social networks.

She has toured with Ethiopian musical powerhouses like Zeritu Kebede and did backup for Gigi, giving her a strong foundation for a future solo career that has been in the making for a long time. When she describes her own music, she is short on words. It helps to have her personal computer near by as she invites me to listen to her songs. Her music is a mixture of soul like ancient Aster Aweke, with a touch of old Motown meets the smooth and gravy like sound of old Muluken Melesse with the distinct like voice of Zeritu Kebede.

It is new and very different and quite distinct compared to the pop music heard on the streets of Ethiopia. For instance, in her signature song, “Yan Gize”, she sings her heart out as if she is telling us all her own emotions in a single song. According to Saba, the song was inspired by a phase in her life when she was emotionally hurt by someone she really cared about. Her CD will also include Tigregna as well as Amharic songs.

What is in the future for this underground artist that is making waves all over the Internet? As she tells me, it will likely include a deal with a South African agency to ink a contract that will have her reach a level of international super stardom, in addition to releasing her very first full length CD in mere months.

As a noted Ethiopian Canadian artist, Kaid, describes her music, her efforts are a reflection of a “very humble, kind and honest” human being.

With this kind of complement coming her way on the eve of her own CD release, engineer, artist, humanitarian and activist Saba Kahsay is creating a unique destination for herself as well as her fans all over the world.