By Reuben Adewale
Ebne Hakim, the artist putting the sound of Ethiopia on the map, making it known across the country and beyond. From telling his story in a melodic way to showcasing his rich culture and staying true to himself, he is captivating audiences everywhere.
During our discussion, Ebne Hakim shared details about his debut EP, ‘Brana,’ his musical journey, the sound of Ethiopia, getting signed to Sony Music/Bana Records, and what the future holds.
What’s the meaning behind your stage name, Ebne Hakim?
The name Ebne Hakim comes from a historical story where King Solomon from Israel and a queen called Saba from Ethiopia had a love child named Minilik the First, but he is also known as Ebne Hakim. That’s where the name originated. When I heard the name and what it stands for, it really gave me a character with a lot of history to it. As Ethiopians, we know who Minilik the First is, but we never knew him as Ebne Hakim, and that kind of resonated with me. Because a lot of people who know me do not know that I have this musical talent, that resonated with that, and the actual meaning of the name means ‘Child of the Wise.’ Hearing that just made a lot of sense to me, to have that type of name, and it makes me tell a very organic story.
You have become the first native artist from your country to get signed to Sony Music label. Can you share how it all came about?
That happened after I got signed to a local label called Bana. So, the deal came through Bana, where Bana pitched my debut EP, the one that just dropped, to the Sony team. They heard it and really loved what they heard. We explained the whole story behind the music, the sound, and the story that the EP is telling, and the one I am telling as Ebne Hakim. They really loved that, and that’s how it came to be.
Can you describe your sound?
My sound is called Ethiopop. It incorporates elements of Ethiopia’s traditional music-making, including instrumentals, while also adapting Western sounds.
You sing in your native language; what inspired you to take that direction?
So far, the Ethiopian sound has been something that is only understandable to the local audience, and it is very cultural. It kind of speaks to Ethiopians and resonates with them. It’s just more traditional. We don’t have a name for it yet, like Amapiano or Afrobeats, but the sound is really different. We have our own instrumentals and way of making music, and there isn’t a name attached to it yet. However, we do have a sound that is going to be something significant in the near future, and hopefully, I’ll take part in that too.
What’s the current state of the entertainment industry in East Africa, and where do you see it headed in the next few years?
I would say it is definitely growing. It has a community that is really pushing it forward, and we have a lot to work on. It’s a work in progress, and it’s going to catch up with the rest of the world eventually. We’re not too far along either. It’s a work in progress, and definitely, it would be something that would be witnessed by the rest of the world.
What do you think about Afrobeats and Amapiano?
Amazing, bro! You know, music from Africa is very unique and beautiful. We love to dance, and we’re moving the world, making the world dance. Seeing artists from this generation doing a lot of those things is a proud moment for me as an African and as an artist too. It’s something that I admire and support.
Your debut EP has just been released, and it tells a story. What messages do each of the tracks convey?
The EP tells the story of how Ebne Hakim starts his journey. It’s an origin story, so Ebne Hakim is a student called Qolotemari in Ethiopia, and that’s how the story unfolds to the world. The intro kind of introduces what’s yet to come, like each track connects and ties everything together to give listeners a sneak peek into that world.
Moving on to the first track, ‘Yeneta’, that track speaks about Ebne Hakim celebrating his mentor, his teacher. As I mentioned, Ebne Hakim is a student, and that particular track shows and paints the picture of him celebrating his mentor or Yeneta, as we call it here. He’s telling the world what he was taught by his mentor and really celebrating that he has someone he looks up to. That’s the whole concept of the ‘Yeneta’ track.
Going to the second track, ‘Qal Becha’, which means empty promises. So, what happens is that he comes from learning from his mentor and all that student-teacher moment, and he kind of finishes his school in general and comes back to the society he was born in. On that day, his first lover, the girl he had an intimate relationship with, he finds her getting married to some other guy. Seeing that, he gets pissed off; all his expectations were cut short, his bubbles really burst in that moment. That’s why the title of the song is called empty promises because it was literally an empty promise that she gave him. It was the day he came back that she was getting married, which is the worst, pure heartbreak. And the worst part is that everyone is celebrating, dancing, and he’s the only one feeling that pain, that sadness. The music captures the dancing, the celebrating, and the sad and heartbreaking part as well – the production, the melody choices, the lyrics. So, that’s what happened, and he gets mad and pissed off, exiled from that society, and runs away from home.
The third track is called ‘Gela’. It has two meanings to it, when you say it softly and strongly. The Amharic word, when said softly, means “Body”, particularly a naked body, and when said strongly, it means “Killer” or “the one that kills”. So, he kind of paints the world in a way that they killed him before warning him; he thought he got it all figured out because he went to school, he has the wisdom now, he’s kind of this hotshot, but the world burst his bubbles, and his expectations didn’t meet reality. That’s how the world is painted on that track ‘Gela’. He kind of shows us that expecting from this broken world kind of cut him in his arms because it has pointy sharp edges. To put it in other words, that’s the whole concept of how he felt betrayed, bruised, and really in pain, and he tries to make sense of everything happening around him. So, he travels out of the society; he runs away from the madness going on, so he’s now in a foreign area he has never been to. He’s just traveling now on the road.
For the fourth track, which is the interlude ‘Yehuna (Interlude)’, it means acceptance, accepting. The direct meaning is “let it be”. So, he comes to this balance of things, what happened to him, and what he has, reflecting on the world. It’s kind of like this peaceful and painful acceptance, both. There’s a particular lyric I like from that track that says, “The halo of happiness can’t sit on my head”, so I guess that’s why happiness doesn’t sit well with me. So, it’s like he’s accepting his fate and what happened to him, and he’s welcoming changes. It was perfect for an interlude because that literally is how interludes are on a project, because the next sound coming after the interlude is going to be different and mix well with the idea of the EP.
So, on the last track ‘Gud New’, he arrives at a city where everything is just flashy, and everything is new to him. He’s very tied to his morals, his culture, and his faith. He’s very intimate with a lot of things like that, and he just came to the city. Imagine the city being bright, just like in the movies, where the women are different, everything is different. So, the actual word ‘Gud New’ doesn’t have a direct meaning in English, but it’s just like ‘Oh Damn’, that’s it. It’s like a shock to him.
So, he arrives in the city, and he’s just taking everything in all at once. There’s pain behind him, and there are flashing lights and new life in front of him. So, he’s really trying to make everything balance. He gets into this club scene where they push him to perform, and he tries to woo some other man’s girl. He kind of performs there, talking about how pretty and intoxicating her smile is, how she’s magnetic to him, and how everything is different. You know, singing about the city, the women, particularly that woman looking at him when he was performing, the clothes, and all. In the end, she leaves him in the club and goes back outside. That’s how the story passes. It’s like a movie, cinematic.
What was the creative process like for your debut EP?
The crazy part about the whole process is that it all started as a dare. My friend dared me to do that EP during the Covid time, 2020/2021. At that time, I had the idea coming together, but I didn’t start working on it right away. Recording and production all came later on, but it was just the idea I had during that Covid time, of having this origin story about this artist where people wouldn’t ask where you’re from because they could see that in the music, in the videos – everything about you can be told with the sound, the visuals, and the story. So, that was the idea I had.
After that, it was just the producer (Nuhi) and I locking in in the studio. He’s really an amazing producer when it comes to sound crafting and everything; he did it justice. We did the project over a year and two to three months because he had class, and I had class too – we were in college back then. Then we graduated, finished the project, and brought it to Bana Records label. It took a year or probably two years with the deal, visuals, album art, branding, and stuff like that. The album art kind of tells this side of where he is from; he is an outcast, he is from that society, but he kind of feels exiled, and he is traveling to another place, to the city, where that society is different. So, we tried to capture that essence of both societies and the type of place where Ebne Hakim is. That’s how the album cover came to be.
Now that the project is out, what does it mean to you and your culture?
It showcases that this generation of artists can be both modern and cultural at the same time. I’ve received amazing feedback from people I never expected would listen to it, and I guess it’s something I never thought about, but I’m really happy that Bana has my first project. It really showcases a lot of the layers I have as an artist, my culture, and what my country has to offer to the world. Artists from my generation can balance modern and cultural aspects and give off this type of music to the world and local audience as well. I am happy to represent this to the world, and I feel amazing.
How does it feel listening to it and performing it as well?
It feels amazing. I never expected people to sing word for word, the lyrics, especially ‘Qal Becha’. People love it because it has that cultural aspect to it, and it kind of makes you dance, but the lyrics are very sad and make you feel some type of way, reminding you of personal pain. Just seeing people sing back the words to me while I am performing that song feels magical. Because for so long, the journey has just been me, the mic, and the studio…now I get to perform it, put it out there for the people, and have moments with the audience. Having that is really magical. I have never experienced anything like that before, and it’s going to keep happening.
What African act would you like to work with?
Everyone from Africa is amazing; there are a lot of artists I want to work with, like Wizkid, Ayra Starr, Tems, Burna Boy, Davido. I can’t just pick one (laughs). For conscious music, I would love to make one with Tems because her vocal and aura – everything about it knows how to put a lot of emotion in places. So, Tems and Burna Boy. Burna Boy would just make something out of this world and then act normal about it, like, “bro!” (laughs).
Which Nigerian artist did you randomly discover?
Victony! It was a journey man. I stumbled on “Holy Father”, and I was like, “Damn!” That song was just crazy for me. That’s how I discovered Victony, and it was like a shock for me – “Damn, the type of talent this guy has is crazy!
What international acts would you like to work with ?
If it is about doing something for Ethiopia for this generation, I would go straight to The Weeknd because he is from Ethiopia. I guess it would mean a lot for Ethiopia in general because someone from abroad, and literally from Ethiopia, jumping on a track together would mean a lot for the audience. So, alongside, I would also love Bruno Mars, to do some funk track with him. That’s my dream collaboration. Personally, that’s the way to go, and for the culture, the country, and for everyone who wants to see Ethiopia have a say in the music scene, I would go with The Weeknd (Abel) because that’s something I would want to listen to as an audience.
Since you started making music professionally, have you faced any obstacles or challenges?
Yeah, the road hasn’t been easy or gentle, especially before the release. It was really hard because we had to wait for like two years before the project came out. We were done with the whole thing; we were just left with mixing and mastering, and the videos and other stuff that comes behind. Literally, it took two years, and Sony wanted to release it the right way, so we had to wait with that too. The waiting did a number on me too because I wanted to release this like two years ago. I was ready, but yeah, during the making of the EP too, like where I live and the studio is literally a 3-4 hour drive. That’s a long travel, taking cabs and taxis, over 3-2 taxis to get there. There were a lot of sacrifices that have been paid to make this come through. The waiting did some damage on me, but in the meantime, we were working on different music, probably gonna come out soon. Making different music kept me sane for a while, but yeah, now I go to the local label called Bana, ’cause it’s nearby and everything is easier for me. The sacrifices… people think it’s easy when they see; they just know the good part about it, like, “He got signed to Sony,” “He’s under Sony,” “He’s got a project out” (laughs). But I had to climb some mountains first before a lot of those things happened, and people don’t just know the middle part, just the good part, like a movie.
Which countries would you like to visit in Africa?
I have been to South Africa first, and the people were really nice to me; I had an amazing time there. Sony had a writers’ camp, which is why I went to South Africa. So, South Africa, definitely Nigeria – if I hadn’t gone to South Africa first, it was going to be Lagos, Nigeria (laughs). Ghana too. These are my top three countries I want to visit in Africa.
What can we expect from you for the rest of the year?
Well, for now, for this debut EP, we are working on shows, meet and greets, and having a relationship with the listeners of the music. That’s what we are currently working on. But in the long term, I would say I am working on a very different sound. Literally, I can’t wait to put that out. I am working on a different project that is just amazing. You would love it. This is something… after paying respect to my culture in the first EP, after paying that respect, I have this creative freedom where I can express my sound, my vision, what I want to say to the world, in a very relatable way for audiences around the world. So, I am really looking forward to this project, and it is looking great and amazing. Look out for that.