The Emperor
So for my Social-Political Philosophy class we read this book called The Emperor, which is a journalistic narrative focused on the story of the downfall of Haile Sellasie’s Ethiopian empire. It is an incredible story of palace intrigue and social-political disintegration, told though the eyes of the dignitaries and ministers who lived through the bloody army coup of 1974. It ends with Selassie’s deposition and eventual death, but vividly paints the picture of an empire slowly falling apart, from both inside and out.
One of the biggest signs of change was the growing discontent with the state’s tight (although loosening) grip on culture. The biggest demonstrations against the Emperor occurred between the University and the Palace, both figuratively and literally (in Addis Ababa, everything important is close to the palace). There were other signs, though. According to the liner notes of the CD that Professor Lewis gave us,
Amha Eshete, a modern and enterprising young man (he was 24 years old in 1969), decided to start his own record company and in so doing to defy the Imperial decree (30 July 1948) that granted a monopoly over the production and importation of records to Agher Feqer Mahber, literally, ‘The Love of Country Association’, which was in fact the first Ethiopian national theatre.
This was one of many first steps in the general direction of casting off the blanket of oppression that had been systematically weakening the people of Ethiopia for centuries, oppression which (ironically) did not end with the violent overthrow of the Imperial regime (to the contrary, Ethiopia is, to this day, considered a kind of hollow lip-service democracy, being ruled by an ethnic majoritarian party).
I am offering you, today, two tracks from the Ethiopian music mix that Lewis made us. If you’re interested, check out Ethiopiques, Vol. 8, the album from which these two songs are drawn.
Alemayehu Eshete - Betchayen Tegodahu (4:28, 6.2 MB)
Mahmoud Ahmed - Mar Teb Yelal Kafesh (3:39, 5.1 MB)
Pitchfork Media African Funk Mixtapes (Mar Teb Yelal Kafesh is mentioned somewhere in this mess!)
Update: Just noticed this post about Sudanese music at the suburbs are killing us, an mp3blog that looks very much worth your while. It seemed just recent enough to be relevant.