page_title: Culture of Ethiopia
section_title: Contemporary scene
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Ethiopia / Music / Contemporary scene
caption_attribution_description: Aster Aweke performing on stage in Melbourne, Australia
context_page_description: short description|Societal elements in Ethiopia}}
  The culture of Ethiopia is diverse and generally structured along ethnolinguistic lines. The country's Afro-Asiatic-speaking majority adhere to an amalgamation of traditions that were developed independently and through interaction with neighboring and far away civilizations, including other parts of Northeast Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, Italy and Malaysia. By contrast, the nation's Nilotic communities and other ethnolinguistic minorities tend to practice customs more closely linked with South Sudan and/or the African Great Lakes region.
  Recently, there has been an argument going on between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt about Ethiopia building a dam over the Nile.
context_section_description: Popular musicians from Ethiopia include internationally renowned and recognized artists such as the Los Angeles–area expatriate Aster Aweke, The Weeknd and Teddy Afro, who is often accredited with the fusion of Rastafarian styles into mainstream Ethiopian music. More recently, music from Tigray and Eritrea has become popular in Ethiopia and among exiles, especially in Italy. One of the biggest new trends, however, has been the rise of bolel, a sort of blues-like music, played by sarcastic azmari playing in parts of Addis Ababa, especially Yohannès Sefer and Kazentchis. Bolel musicians include Tigist Assefa, Tedje and Admassou Abate.
  Currently the most prominent Ethiopian singer internationally is Gigi. Through her performing with top jazz musicians such as Bill Laswell (who is also her husband) and Herbie Hancock, Gigi has brought Ethiopian music to popular attention, especially in the United States, where she now lives.
  Other popular performers include Tewodros Tadesse, Neway Debebe, Tadesse Alemu, Hamelmal Abate, Martha Ashagari, Yohannes Berhanu, Kuku Sebsebe, Aster Aweke, and Manalemosh Dibo. Neway was very popular among the youth of the 1980s and early 1990s with such songs as "Yetekemt Abeba," "Metekatun Ateye," "Safsaf," and "Gedam," among others. Abatte Barihun has exemplified all four main qenets on his 2005 album Ras Deshen.
  Éthiopiques producer Francis Falceto criticizes contemporary Ethiopian music for eschewing traditional instruments and ensemble playing in favor of one-man bands using synthesizers. Harvard University professor Kay Kaufman Shelemay, on the other hand, maintains that there is genuine creativity in the contemporary music scene. She further points out that Ethiopian music is not alone in shifting to electronically produced music, a point that Falceto acknowledges.
caption: Popular Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke.
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