Ethiopian artist Giday has released his new album ‘Original’, capping a seven-year journey of reinvention in Addis Ababa and setting his sights on a global audience.
The 16-track Afrofusion project, which arrived in June, follows his return to Ethiopia in 2019 after years of building a music career in Boston. In the U.S., Giday co-founded a studio and creative space, worked with artists who later secured record deals, and saw one act signed under Kanye West. But moving back to Addis Ababa meant starting over.
“When I first moved back, I had to really humble myself. Nobody cares,” Giday says. “Whatever you’ve done up there, you have to come here and prove yourself.”
He began producing and connecting with the local scene, even joining a band that played weekly hotel gigs for far less than he earned in the States. “I used to send money back from the States, and now I’m here playing for that,” he recalls. “I had to come here and start from zero.”
A Reintroduction Through ‘Original’
The album, which Giday calls both a reintroduction and his origin story, draws on roughly 40 to 50 songs he considered before narrowing the tracklist to 16. He cut material that felt dated or no longer reflected his perspective. “I wanted to finish telling the story,” he says.
The project features Ethiopian artists Yohana, Sami Dan, Dibekulu, Adey, and Skat Nati, as well as Malawian rapper Sagonjah, who appears on the opening track “Griot.” Giday says the title and collaboration were deliberate: “I wanted people to be like, ‘What is the griot? What is that?’ and search and look it up, and then understand that I’m a storyteller.”
A Changing Scene
Giday returned to an Ethiopian music industry that he says has since undergone a renaissance. When he released “Original,” he notes, five other albums dropped around the same time, a level of activity he had never seen before. Younger artists are collaborating more freely, experimenting with new sounds and local instruments, and visual production has grown alongside the music. The video for his lead single “This Kind Love,” directed by Maranata Tegegne, reflects that increasingly ambitious creative ecosystem.
Global Ambitions
Having spent much of his life moving between Ethiopia and the U.S., Giday believes he can make music that resonates at home while remaining accessible abroad. “I’m trying to represent Ethiopia but on a global stage. I don’t think anybody’s really done that yet,” he says. “I think that’s my place.”
His Afrofusion sound blends Ethiopian languages and influences with English and the global genres that shaped him, including reggae, R&B, and West African music he heard growing up. He credits reggae and conscious music with helping him through a difficult period after he first arrived in Boston at 17 to study civil engineering at Northeastern University. He later enrolled at the New England School of Art, where he studied digital audio and media production, and co-founded a studio and clothing space that became a hub for young artists.
Staying True
Giday describes “Original” as a commitment to authenticity. The album closes with “Abqitwal,” which he translates as “it’s done” or “it’s over,” a track he says captures a sense of finality and new beginnings. “I don’t mind restarting again,” he adds. “I’m also introducing myself to me.”
