Ethiopian artists to rock Nairobi

thiopian artists, Melkit Hadero and Ellias Fullmore aka BurntFace are set to perform in Nairobi on 19 December.

The two artists, who will be on a five-day visit in Nairobi will visit the Nairobi National Museum, sample some of our local Nairobi Clubs and spend time at a community centre.

Hip-hop artist, Burntface will be performing at WAPI on Dec 19th at 3pm. Soul singer Meklit  will be performing at the Tribe Hotel on 19th at 8pm.


ABOUT MELKIT

Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-born singer, musician, and Resident Artist at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. Drawing inspiration from Jazz instrumentalists, American songwriters, and Ethiopian vocalists, Meklit's music is at home in multiplicity. Lyrically focused, with a honey voice alternately delicate and vast, Meklit quite literally dances the music alive.

Meklit's is both songwriter and composer, equally inhabiting both the recording/touring world, as well as the world of the arts and culture. In 2007, she self-released her first EP, titled "Eight Songs…." Currently she is signed to Porto Franco Records, and her latest studio album, "On A Day Like This"  will be released in April of 2010.

In February of 2009, she founded the Arba Minch Collective, a group of fifteen outstanding artists from the Ethiopian Diaspora living in North America. In December of 2009, the group will travel to the 1000 Stars Festival of Traditional Music in Arba Minch Ethiopia, as well as perform in Addis Ababa and Arba Minch, both in classrooms and clubs.

ABOUT BURNTFACE

Born, Ellias Kenneth Fullmore, BurntFace is the eldest son of an African American father and Ethiopian mother. After graduating from Morehouse College in the US with a degree in Marketing he formed his own multimedia company called Burntface Media LLC that specializes in producing original music, special events and graphic design.

Ellias has produced and performed on several ground-breaking albums that are innovative for their fusion of Ethiopian music and conscious hip hop.

His music has been featured in recent Ethiopian movies and documentaries. He has also hosted and produced several large scale cultural festivals like the Ethiopian African 2000 Millennium Celebration in Washington DC.

This event brought together more then 30,000 people to grounds of the Washington Monument. It was one of the world’s largest Ethiopian Millennium Celebrations.

Ellias received a Congressional Award from Congressman Mike Honda for his part in the production of this event.
Ellias has also lectured at George Washington University on the “Influence of traditional African music on Hip Hop culture and the influence of Hip Hop culture on modern Africa.”