Ethiopia’s Henok and the Mehari Brothers honoured at AFRIMA

9 Nov 2016 - 09:03

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

Ethiopian band Henok and Mehari Brothers was named Best R&B and Soul Artist for the single ‘Ewedishalehu’ at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) held on 7 November in Nigeria.

Ethiopian band Henock and the Mehari Brothers. Photo: www.addisfortune.net

The band was the sole winner from Ethiopia at the awards that saw fellow East African star Diamond Platinumz walk away as the night’s biggest winner having bagged three awards.

Reveling in the moment Henok, the band’s vocalist took to Facebook to share the good news: “Thank God Almighty, I believed in Africa and Africa believed in me, congratulations Ethiopia I have won the AFRIMA awards 2016 Best RnB soul. At last the hard work paid off!”

‘Ewedishalehu’ is a single from the band’s latest album 790 released in early 2016. The 15-track album, has been regarded by fans as offering a "very new and fresh sound" on the Ethiopian music scene. 'Ewèdishalèhu’ is one of the two songs off the album that are getting onto local radio charts.

The Mehari Brothers started off backing artists like Zeritu Kebede. They have also worked with other leading Ethiopian acts, including Teddy Afro, Johnny Ragga and Eyob Mekonnen. Before the Mehari Brothers emerged on the Ethiopian scene, singers usually received the most attention at live shows, with bands relegated to a back-up role.

Speaking to Music In Africa on the sidelines of his participation at the Coke Studio Africa in Kenya, Henok noted that the Mehari Brothers started the band culture in Ethiopia thus making it possible for bands to gain prominence on the live music circuit.

Besides Henok & Mehari Brothers, other Ethiopian stars who were nominated at AFRIMA included: Jano Band who were nominated for the Best Group in African Rock and Best African Group. Also nominated was the fast rising reggae artist Anteneh Minalu for the Best Artist in reggae, ragga and dancehall.

AFRIMA is a combined effort to recognise, award, promote and preserve Africa’s rich music culture. Henok and Mehari Brothers are among the seven bands set to perform during the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) Annual General Meeting that kicks off on Thursday, 10 November at the Goethe-Institut in Addis Ababa.

The full programme for the MIAF AGM is available here.

Goethe-Institut