Dejazmatch Closes Kuku’s Album Legacy

In the golden era of modern Ethiopian music, few voices carried the elegance, gravitas, and cultural resonance of Kuku Sebsebe Shibiru. A defining voice of the 1970s and 1980s, Kuku didn’t just sing—she translated the spirit of a nation in flux.

She emerged as one of the country’s leading female vocalists, acclaimed for her emotive delivery and innovative fusion of traditional Ethiopian sounds with contemporary styles. Her music—often weaving together themes of love, longing, and national identity—helped shape Ethiopia’s modern musical identity.

Born in Addis Ababa’s historic Jan Meda neighborhood, Kuku was the daughter of Dejazmatch Sebsebe, a political figure whose stature loomed large in Ethiopia’s feudal period. But it was her own voice—mature beyond her years—that began turning heads at the age of 15, during a high school talent show hosted at the Hilton Hotel. That night wasn’t just a school memory. It was an unofficial debut, a quiet ignition of a four-decade musical journey.

Her formal education took place at Nazareth School and later at the American Mission, but her musical education began even earlier. As a child, she would gather classmates and perform mock concerts, imitating popular Amharic and English singers, keeping rhythm on her lunchbox. Though her father initially disapproved—preferring she focus on academics—Kuku’s persistence eventually turned resistance into legacy.

She broke new ground when she became the first female artist to record a hit single with the iconic Roha Band. The song, “Ingidayenesh,” a duet with the legendary Alemayehu Eshete, captured audiences. Her career took off, and by 1982, she had released her debut album, Fikreh Beretabegne, under the Electra Music Store label.

What followed was a flurry of stage lights, studio sessions, and sold-out performances. Her second album, Ajere Meweded, emerged while she performed regularly at Villa Verde alongside pianist Melesse Gesesse and held public shows at Merkato—one of Addis Ababa’s most vibrant open-air market.

With her signature Sebsebe-style braids immortalized in an Ethiopian Television video clip, Kuku’s image became as iconic as her voice. She captivated audiences not just in Addis Ababa, but across the Horn of Africa, performing in Djibouti, at high-end Sheraton venues, and in the booming nightlife scenes of Dubai. In 1988, she relocated to the United States, where she spent nearly two decades performing in diaspora communities and recording two additional albums: Geze and Ethiopia, with composers Abegasu Shiota and Tewodros Mekonnen—better known to fans as Teddy Mak.

Now, at the twilight of a luminous career, Kuku Sebsebe released what she calls her final studio album—Dejazmatch. Named in honor of her father’s title, the album debuted on May 1, 2025, across her YouTube channel and more than 150 international digital platforms. A press briefing held earlier that week at Addis Ababa’s Harmony Hotel drew music insiders and media alike.

The album—seven years in the making—comprises 13 tracks, nine of which were composed and produced by Abel Paulos with lyrics by Ethiopia’s most prominent pop icon, Teddy Afro (Tewodros Kassahun). The remaining songs were penned by other revered artists, including Yilma Gebreab and Moges Teka.

“Music is a product of passion, interest, and love,” Kuku stated during the event. She credited these qualities as the pillars of her enduring career, offering thanks to fans and collaborators.

One of the album’s tracks was composed using only the kirar, a traditional Ethiopian lyre—an artistic choice she said distinguishes Dejazmatch from her earlier albums

The making of Dejazmatch, Kuku’s eighth album, was neither rushed nor solitary. Its seven-year gestation involved numerous hands and ears—but one voice, according to producer Abel, guided it through.

Abel emphasized the scope of its creative process, crediting a host of lyricists, arrangers, and musicians. Still, he reserved special praise for Kuku herself, calling her commitment the “centerpiece” of the album’s completion.

“But Kuku deserves the highest praise. It was her vision, her patience, and her relentless dedication that carried this project to the finish line,” he said.

Throughout her career, Kuku has delivered a catalogue of songs that helped define modern Ethiopian music. For her, each album carries a different emotional weight, but a few remain etched in her memory.

Among them, she points to Fikreh Beretabegne and “Ingidayenesh”—her early hits—as pivotal in expanding her reach. But it was her 2002 release, Tinish Geze Sitegn, that she believes bridged generations.

“That album brought together the older and younger audiences,” she said. “It had something for everyone.”

Still, it is her Tizeta album that Kuku considers her magnum opus. “I like and adore most of my work,” she said, “but Tizeta is where I truly showed my internal quality and ability.”

The album showcases four foundational modes of Ethiopian music—Tizita, Bati, Ambassel, and Anchihoye—and, in her words, embodies her full artistic range. “It is simply my masterpiece.”

While Dejazmatch marks the close of a chapter, describing it as her final album, it does not signify the end of Kuku’s musical journey. Instead of large-scale releases, she plans to focus on singles and Eps. “I want my fans to understand—I’m not retiring from singing,” she said. “But I am stepping away from full-length albums. I’ll continue as long as my inner self tells me to.”

Long before she became a household name, Kuku’s inclusion in some of Ethiopia’s most legendary bands marked the true beginning of her professional ascent. Her early performances with the IBEX and Walias bands offered her the exposure and experience that would shape her signature sound.

Her entry into the spotlight was paved by legends—and business deals. For Giovanni Rico, a founding member of the IBEX Band, Kuku was the “Light of the Band”. He also recalled how a stroke of fortune (and funding) led to her early professional breakthrough. As the Walias Band disbanded, IBEX acquired their instruments with a loan from influential businessman Abeselom Yehdego—on the condition that Kuku be brought onboard. “We accepted,” Rico said.

He remembered her as shy and reserved in the beginning. But with encouragement and regular practice, her confidence grew. “She added something unique to our sound. She was like a flower beginning to bloom,” he said. That bloom would fully emerge with the release of the album Hede-betchama, recorded during her time with the band.

Her influence wasn’t confined to her bandmates. One longtime admirer, who attended her concerts in the 1970s and ’80s, described her voice as “a sensational singer with a style that could not be imitated. When Kuku sang, he said, “it felt like the entire room stopped to listen.”

He noted that she emerged at a time when few women commanded the stage with such individuality. “Her music carried not just melodies, but the weight of cultural identity. Even now, her songs stir the same emotions they did decades ago. She gave us something timeless.”

At a time when few women commanded Ethiopian stages, Kuku’s presence was both pioneering and poetic.

Looking forward, Kuku is set to host a podcast talk show, a platform she hopes will blend entertainment with substance.

From her childhood performances with a lunchbox drum to stages that spanned continents, Kuku Sebsebe has narrated decades of Ethiopian life through melody, identity, and soul. And though Dejazmatch may be her last album, her voice—vibrant, unyielding—remains as resonant as ever. Not a goodbye. Just a new verse, in an ever-unfolding song.