African music is on the rise; there is no doubt about it. The Western demand for the Afrobeats sound means our artistes, songwriters, producers and sound engineers are firmly under the focus of the entertainment spotlight. Wizkid and Burna Boy picking up Grammys at the last awards ceremony further serves to accentuate the fact that African music is here to stay.
The continuity of our dominance as a continent will largely depend on the generation of artistes coming next, the ones still in the underground music scene. The good news is that our future is in good hands as the artistes on their way up are super talented and creative individuals worth getting familiar with now.
On that note, we will be spotlighting some talented upcoming female artistes across different regions in Africa.
On this week’s episode, we spoke to Ethiopian singer, Blén.
Blén is an R&B Singer-Songwriter from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia blessed with a strong vocal prowess that captures the attention of anyone who listens her music.
49th Street: Can you introduce yourself?
Blén: My name is Blen Mekonnen. I go by Blén. I’m an Ethiopian R&B singer-songwriter, born and raised in Addis Ababa. I released my first single at the age of 13, in 2012, together with former DC-based producer Kenny Allen. Since then, I have worked with multiple producers in Ethiopia and have released a number of singles.
49th Street: How would you describe your style of music:
Blén: My style of music falls under the R&B/Alternative R&B/ Lo-fi/ Alternative Hiphop radar.
49th Street: What would you say inspires your style of music?
Blén: I grew up listening to Gigi (Ejegayew Shebabaw), Zeritu Kebede, and Eyob Mekonnen and hence draw on these influences alongside influences from the west such as Lauryn Hill, H.E.R. and Jhené Aiko. These influences have inspired me to work on creating a fusion of Ethiopian cultural sound with R&B.
49th Street: So is the fusion of Ethiopian cultural sound with R&B peculiar to you alone? Did you pioneer it or it’s a sub genre of R&B popular in Ethiopia?
Blén: It is a sub genre of R&B popular in Ethiopia, I didn’t pioneer it.
49th Street: Let’s talk about your last single 20/20. What was the idea behind the song?
Blén: So, the song is about ‘reflection’. It’s about that moment in your life when you stop and reflect on yourself, your doings, and the decisions that you’ve made. I wrote this song when Covid first hit, and I was quarantined at home and was reflecting on myself and where I was at in life. And I felt like the year 2020 itself had most of us going through the same thing, and it was a common feeling. And the title is actually a funny story because the guy that I collaborated with on the song, TRU3 had a line that mentioned “20/20 angles, gotta check perspective”, which gave it two meanings, one being 20/20 angles (having a clearer vision post-reflection) and also the other one being the year of the pandemic breakout.
49th Street: Which artistes would you love to work with in the nearest future?
Blén: I have a lot, to be honest. But recently, I’m really becoming fond of Rema and would love to collaborate with him someday.
49th Street: How has the experience of the music industry been? Any challenges?
Blén: Man, there are a lot! Inadequate resources in general, in terms of financial, institutional, and governmental policies. There is not much attention given to the art industry in our country, meaning that its values are very much overlooked.
49th Street: What are your plans for the future?
Blén: I am currently working on my first EP which I expect to be released very soon alongside a couple of visuals. I’ve also collaborated with some industry people in order to establish a first-of-its-kind record label here in Ethiopia which I expect will revolutionize the Ethiopian music scene.
You can listen to Blén’s single, 20/20;
