(Image Courtesy: ManKind Music Production)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Sunday, May 11th, 2014
New York (TADIAS) — You may remember our highlight of the Seattle-based Ethiopian-born artist Yadesa Bojia who designed the current flag of the African Union. Yadesa (popularly known as Yaddi), has released his first solo CD entitled Yaddi Bojia Feat. Ire. The album’s eleven songs are all written and performed by him.
“Music was my first love,” Yaddi shares. “It always felt like I was destined to be a musician of some kind, even from the early age of 4.” Through music, Yaddi said, he feels “visible, boundry-less and carefree.” He added: “I have a voice to raise my concerns, to speak, to praise, to celebrate, to mourn and to remember. Yet, with all it’s values to me, I kept it on the back burner, it felt like the fire that lit in me in early age would fade out in time yet, it only became more powerful the older I got.”
Yaddi notes that he was “re-introduced” to music in 2006 through a local reggae group called the Crucialites. ”My friend and the band’s founder Scott Mosher asked me to join the band as a back-up vocalist and I accepted,” he said. “With the Crucialites, I performed in different venues and opened for different known bands like, Morgan Heritage, Twinkle Brothers, Clinton Fearon and Boogie brown Band and Winston “Flames” Jarrett.” In 2008, the group released its first CD entitled Lion Ridge , Yaddi, however, departed the group the following year to tend to family responsibilities.
“Two years later, I ran into Iré Taylor, who I knew from the Boogie Brown Band and his amazing work with the Culture band way back when the band released One Stone,” Yaddi said. “I have to say, I was one of his admirers and it came as a surprise to me when he expresses his willingness to work with me. I jumped at the opportunity. Little did I know Iré was what I had been waiting for all this years. Iré has such a talent for great music and we share the same musical ideals – music as a tool for social change and music from the heart.”
The following is a recent interview by the Seattle Ethio Youth Media TV highlighting Yaddi’s album:
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The album is produced under the label ManKind Music Production. It can be found at CDbaby, Itunes, Amazon and other online music distributors.
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