Munit Mesfin (born 1981) is an Ethiopian singer and songwriter best known for working in a duo with German vocalist and guitarist Jӧrg Pfeil. Munit sings in her mother tongue Amharic and English, with inspiration from traditional Ethiopian songs. Some of her music includes vocalization without words. Mesfin has a focus on social issues and female empowerment.

Early life

Munit Mesfin was born in 1981 in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, Ethiopia. Her mother is Dr. Tewabech Bishaw, a public health professional and a pioneer, who was the first female public health officer in Ethiopia. Her father is Prof. Mesfin Abebe, Ethiopia's first soil scientist, who has worked his whole life for the protection of Ethiopia's natural resources, especially its soil. Both of her parents grew up in the city of

Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...

, Ethiopia. Munit moved to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

at the age of ten because of her mother's work with

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

. She moved to

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, at fourteen, where she completed her

GCE Ordinary Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

s. At sixteen, she moved to the United States, where she attended

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP a ...

Northfield, Massachusetts Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Northfield was first settled in 1673. The population was 2,866 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Connecticut R ...

. She went on to study economics and government at Smith College, a private women's liberal arts college in Northampton, Massachusetts. During her youth, Munit performed with various local choirs. While at Smith, Mesfin performed with the college's

a capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group, the Smiffenpoofs.

Musical career

While living in Washington, D.C. after college, Munit was a backup singer for

Ethiopian-American Ethiopian Americans are Americans of Ethiopian descent, as well as individuals of American and Ethiopian ancestry. History In 1919, an official Ethiopian goodwill mission was sent to the United States to congratulate the Allied powers on thei ...

soul singer

Wayna Wayna (real name Woyneab Miraf Wondwossen) is an R&B/soul singer and songwriter who was born in Ethiopia and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. She worked as a writer for the Clinton White House before releasing three solo albums, garnerin ...

. She worked with many other Ethiopian musicians, including her brother, Jorga Mesfin, an

Ethio-jazz Ethio-jazz is a blend of jazz music with Ethiopian music, traditional Ethiopian music, combining the pentatonic scale-based melodies of Ethiopian music with the 12-tone scale and instrumentation of Western jazz music. Other elements in this genre ...

saxophonist. After living abroad for almost 20 years, Munit returned to Ethiopia in 2007 during the celebration of the Ethiopian Millenium, where she met her frequent collaborator, Jӧrg Pfeil. Since then, the pair have released two albums as Munit and Jӧrg: ''Just the two of us: Live at the coffee house'', in 2008, and , released in March 2013.

Personal life

Munit Mesfin is married and has three children.

References

{{reflist Women singer-songwriters Ethiopian musicians Soul music Smith College alumni