Tigist Shibabaw (1980 –January 2008) was an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

singer and one of the original members of the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

-based hip hop fusion band

Bole2Harlem Bole2Harlem was a musical collaboration that fused elements of Ethiopian music with American hip hop. Bole2Harlem released one album, ''Bole2Harlem, Volume 1'', in 2006. David "Duke Mushroom" Schommer, a producer, songwriter, and percussioni ...

. She was born in

Chagni Chagni (also known as Kedamawi Haile Selassie Ber) is a town in North Western Ethiopia. Located in the Agew Awi Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a longitude and latitude of and an elevation of 1583 meters above sea level. It is the adminis ...

, Ethiopia, like her sister, the singer Gigi.

Early life

Tigist was born and raised in

, a small town in northwestern Ethiopia. She was one of ten siblings, born into a family of coffee farmers who relied on the local river for their harvest. According to her sister Gigi, their household was always filled with entertainment, and the children of the house were often recruited to entertain guests.

Career

Tigist immigrated to the United States in 2000 to pursue a career in music, joining her older sister Gigi, who was already a globally acclaimed musician in her own right. Their father had initially forbidden Gigi from becoming an entertainer. Tigist performed with her sister Gigi on Gigi's debut album; she then became a lead vocalist for Bole2Harlem. The group's co-founder and producer David Schommer described her voice and singing as "a vital part of Bole2Harlem's sound."

Death

Tigist died at the age of twenty-eight in Bahar Dar,

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 ...

, where she is said to have traveled on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

shortly after she finished recording with

circa January 2008. Details regarding the circumstances surrounding her death never emerged, including the exact date of her death; fans mourned her passing when they learned the news. She was buried among family in

, the town where she was born.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigist Shibabaw 1980 births 2008 deaths 21st-century Ethiopian women singers Date of birth missing Date of death missing