Amain Berhane better known as Berhana is an American singer-songwriter.
History
Amain Berhane was born near
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
in an
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n family. Growing up, he wrote songs and sang in church. He studied screenwriting at
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and there started to realize music was something he wanted to pursue more seriously. His self-titled EP was self-released in 2016. His song "Grey Luh" from the album was featured on
Donald Glover's ''
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
''. During this time Berhane was also a
Japanese chef for several years. Berhana was listed in
Variance Magazine as one of the "10 acts we can't wait to see at
Pitchfork Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The f ...
2018."
Artistry
Berhana grew up listening to his Ethiopian parents' music as well as
Sam Cooke,
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
, and
Stevie Wonder. He was also greatly influenced by Michael Jackson's
Moonwalker
''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through a collection of short films about J ...
and
Rock With You. About his EP he said, "I wanted something that felt like the inside of my mom's house—almost like a documentary." In two of his songs, ‘‘Wade Green’’ and ‘‘Brooklyn Drugs’’ he introduced
Amharic vocals. Two years later, in 2018, Berhana followed up with Hunger TV, saying "I think that seeps in to all my music – I want people to feel like they’re there with me, in the moment, while I’m thinking the things that I’m singing about."
Berhana released his debut album, ''Han'', on October 18, 2019 via EQT Recordings. The project features singles "Health Food", "Lucky Strike", and "I Been (ft.
Crush)."
In November 2020 he released a remix of song "Golden" titled "Golden Pt. 2 (with
Mereba)"
Discography
EPs
* ''Berhana'' (2016)
Albums
*''HAN'' (2019)
References
{{Reflist
External links
* http://www.berhana.com
* https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/07/18/629910947/berhana-struggles-with-the-trappings-of-success-in-wildin
21st-century American musicians
Living people
Musicians from Atlanta
The New School alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century African-American male singers
American people of Ethiopian descent
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singers