Sara Haile, better known by her stage name Sa'ra Charismata, is a Swedish-Eritrean singer and songwriter.

Early life

Sa'ra Charismata's parents fled the conflict in 1970s

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, finding sanctuary in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

where she was born and raised. Growing up across three continents, Sa'ra Charismata devoted her adolescent years addressing challenging issues pertaining to racial, economic and gender inequalities through music, field activism and legal practice, primarily in

The United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

Charismata began her music career in 2004 while she attended college at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. In college, Charismata spearheaded the campus organization The Summit Organizing Committee on Social Justice and Diversity (SOC) and during that time her music was mainly acoustic and political in nature. After college, Charismata intended to continue her political career so she attended law school at

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. However, in 2013, once she had earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree, Charismata left the legal field to fully pursue a career in music instead. In 2015, Charismata gave a

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talk where she spoke of her journey going from the legal field to fully embracing a career in music. Having spent the majority of her artist career as an independent artist, in 2015, Charismata signed a record deal with Virgin Records Sweden after she independently released "Mushroom," her most popular song yet, gaining the attention of radio and record label executives in Sweden. In her song "Mushroom," a high-energy punk-pop tune, Charismata uses references to

Super Mario Brothers is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for th ...

characters like

Koopa Troopa Koopa Troopas, known in Japan as , are fictional footsoldiers of the turtle-like Koopa race from the ''Mario'' media franchise. They are commonly referred to generically as Koopas, a race that includes Bowser, King of the Koopas, the Koopaling ...

to draw comparison to the current social order and political climate, begging the question, who is really in control? In 2014, Charismata was nominated Rookie Artist of the Year at the Denniz Pop Awards alongside

Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take o ...

and listed as "a name to watch for" by Sweden's leading music journalist Jan Gradvall.

Musical style and influences

Charismata described her early style of music as "Protest Pop," a term she coined herself.

Afropunk Afro-punk (sometimes spelled Afro-Punk, Afropunk or AfroPunk) refers to the participation of African Americans and other Black people in punk and alternative subcultures, especially in the United States. History The term originated from the 200 ...

has previously described Charismata as "the quintessential revival of the modern protest song in pop music" and "an outspoken voice that mainstream media may never acknowledge." Charismata cites the careers of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

, and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

as her biggest inspirations. Charismata is also known for her high-energy live performances influenced by the 1980s New York punk scene. She has performed at large-scale festivals such as

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and Peace & Love Festival in Sweden. Whereas Charismata's previous work has been mainly political in nature, her more recent work also includes more personal lyrics.

Singles discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charismata, Sa'ra Living people Swedish women singer-songwriters University of Northern Colorado alumni Fordham University alumni Swedish people of Eritrean descent 21st-century Swedish women singers Year of birth missing (living people)