Ethiopian singer-songwriter Ejigayehu Shibabaw is better known by the stage name Gigi. Gigi is renowned for fusing distinctive indigenous sounds with a range of world music. She performs on numerous stages throughout the world and is one of the few musicians from Ethiopia that are known internationally. In the Amhara region of Chagni, Ethiopia, Gigi was born in 1974. In 1984, her family moved to Addis Abeba, the nation’s capital.Early on, Gigi made the decision to pursue a career as a singer and songwriter.
The traditional and devout members of her family questioned her choice to pursue a career in singing. Gigi had to flee her nation and travel to Nairobi, Kenya, to fulfill her dream. She had only turned 19 at the time. Gigi founded a business and performed at her first event in Nairobi in 1993. When she got back, she joined the National Theater in Addis Abeba, where she met Weres Egziabeher and musician Fantahun Shewankochew.
The group was well-known for their Kirar and Masinko-composed traditional music. They have performed music tours in some European nations, as well as eastern and southern Africa. Their music captured the attention of record label Maison des Cultures du Monde in 1997 while they were performing at a World Music Festival in France. The business approached Gigi and her bandmates about recording some of the country’s old-fashioned love songs. The album was issued by the firm in France under the name “ÉTHIOPIE/Chants d’Amour.” Gigi also released her album, “Tsehay,” in the same year (the Sun).
Gigi relocated to the US in 1998. She made her home in California and began working with Dereje Mekonen to create her debut album. All ten songs on the album were written by Gigi, who also sang them with her seductive voice. Gigi became well-known and well-liked in Ethiopia as a result of the album One Ethiopia. Gigi was singled out as one of the best creative musicians in the business due to the impact and message of the lyrics, their originality, and the melody’s cultural suitability. Chris Blackwell of Palm Pictures notices the CD, which lead her to meet the well-known musician Bill Laswell.
