Emerging Somalia: Baashe Delta

Being a musician requires years of practice, hard work, dedication, and being able to keep up with the trends and standards… something Baashe Delta is all too aware of. 

For the Somali-German singer and songwriter, it has been a constant struggle to get where he currently is. He has had to face a lot of challenges before people started paying attention to his music. 

Being a refugee, it wasn’t easy to break into the German music scene. Luckily for Baashe Delta, music has always been a passion, and all he had to do was put in the work and soon enough, things started to fall into place. 

Born in Somalia before moving to Germany, Baashe Delta released his first single called ‘Najma’ in 2019 at just 17 years old. The hit sung in Somali got him the attention of the critics, but his real breakthrough came after he released another single, 'Lacala', which earned him global recognition. The song became a viral hit on TikTok following the launch of the 'Lacala challenge’ on the social media platform last year. 

The singer, who is fluent in Somali, Swahili, Hindi, English and German fuses pop, R&B and Somali traditional elements in his music, and he believes he has what it takes to change the face of Somali music. “Most Somali/East Africa artists are not signed to any labels and they make much less from their music compared to their counterparts in the West because of the limited resources,” Baashe Delta said. “Their audience is largely limited to their own communities. However, with the advancement in technology and social media platforms like YouTube, these barriers can be eliminated and one can reach to every corner of the world and inspire people through music.” 

So far, the young star has performed in major German cities like Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt, and he is set to perform in Kenya in August this year where his fans can look forward to seeing him perform in Swahili.

And so there goes a truism all young people should embrace: success is not handed on a silver platter. It takes blood, sweat and tears. Baashe Delta epitomises this in his approach to music, and that is why he has also launched his own studio called Kkurbo where he provides services to other upcoming musicians.