Neway Debebe (; born 21 December 1958) is an Ethiopian singer and songwriter. Neway became popular after releasing his first debut album, recorded by the Tango Music shop, in 1970s with a local band called the Roha Band. Following this, Neway released more than five studio albums.
Life and career
1958–1966: Early life
Neway Debebe was born in
Hamer Bako, and raised in different parts of Ethiopia. He lived in
Asella
Asella ( om, Asallaa, ʾÄsäla, am, አሰላ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region south from Addis Ababa, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 2,430 meters. Asella hosts an ...
,
Awasa and
Wolaita Sodo
Sodo ( am, ሶዶ) or Wolaita Sodo ( am, ወላይታ ሶዶ) or (Wolaitta language, Wolaytatto: ''Wolayta Sodo Ambbaa'') is a city in south-central Ethiopia. The administrative center of the Wolaita Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of wit ...
. Neway's passion for music started while he was in high school. He attended Ras Andarge high school in Asella. The teachers supported Neway in many different ways to lay a foundation for his passion for music. As a result Neway performed well in the high school student's band.
1967–1970s: Career beginnings
After developing his talent in high school, Neway moved to the capital
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 ...
to further his musical career. In Addis Ababa he joined the Ambassador Theatre and the Ras Theatre's traditional
band respectively. His contributions to the bands increased their popularity, especially the Ras Theatre's band.
1973–1974: Maebel Naw
In the 1970s Neway released his first debut
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
''Maebel Naw'', which included great hit songs such as "Eshet Belahugn", "Yetikimit Abeba" and "Egnaw Enitarek". Neway has released six studio albums, and collaborated with other artists on different albums. His works have afforded him great fame with a wide audience.
Neway has been described as possessing a "voice of silk".
He composes
melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
for himself and for his many professional
colleagues
Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues. A colleague is a fellow member of the same profession.
Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and respect each other's abilities to work toward that purpose. A colleague is ...
, including
Tilahun Gessesse. Neway's music is wide and varied, from the traditional
Ethiopian beats,
rumba,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
or
garage,
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
or
Ethno-Jazz,
calypso to
Afro-pop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like Music of Africa, African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. M ...
. This made Neway hugely popular outside
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 ...
.
1991–2007: Move to United States
In 1991, Neway went to United States and lived there for more than 16 years.
Neway released his two albums "Ageren Alresam" and "Yene Deha" while in the US. These albums were arranged by Abegaz Kibrework. Henok Temesgen and Fasil Wuhib also participated. In 2007, the new
Millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
in the
Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar ( am, የኢትዮጲያ ዘመን ኣቆጣጠር; Oromo: Akka Lakkofsa Itoophiyaatti; Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉደ ኣዋርሕ), or Ge'ez calendar ( Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉ ...
, Neway returned to Ethiopia.
1986–2010: Marriage and divorces
Neway was first married to Aida Hassen. They got divorced in 2010. This was not revealed until 27 December 2020, during an interview on the talk show ''Seifu'' on
EBS. The story went viral on the national level. Neway married his second spouse in 2018 and has now two sons.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Maebel Naw'' (1973)
* ''Telayewa'' (1989)
* ''Amen'' (Maebel Productions, Ethio Sound; 2002)
* ''Hageren Alresam'' (Maebel Productions, 1998)
* ''Best of Neway Debebe Collection'' (Nahom Records, 2007)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debebe, Neway
1958 births
Ethiopian emigrants to the United States
Living people
20th-century Ethiopian male singers
People from Wolayita Zone
Musicians from Wolayita