Mahmoud Ahmed is a singer from Ethiopia. Before becoming well-known worldwide among African music enthusiasts in Europe and the Americas, he enjoyed considerable popularity in Ethiopia during the 1970s and among the Ethiopian diaspora during the 1980s. Mahmoud was captivated by the music he heard on Ethiopian radio from a young age. He was born in the Mercato area of Addis Ababa. After working as a shoeshiner due to his low academic performance, he later became a handyman at the Arizona Club, where Emperor Haile Selassie I’s Imperial Bodyguard Band would congregate after hours. When the band’s singer failed to arrive one evening in 1962, Mahmoud asked to perform a few songs. He quickly joined the band’s permanent lineup and stayed there until 1974. Mahmoud proceeded to record with a number of bands for the Amha and Kaifa record labels during the 1970s after releasing his first singles, “Nafqot New Yegodagn” and “Yasdestal,” with Venus Band in 1971. Emperor Selassie’s overthrow and the military government’s suspension of musical nightlife caused changes in Ethiopia’s music scene. Mahmoud continued to produce successful records and cassettes with many musicians who stayed in the nation, such as the Dahlak Band and the Ibex Band, while the Imperial Body Guard Band was no longer active. In addition, he started putting out solo tapes with mandolin, guitar, or krar accompaniment. Mahmoud Ahmed at the 2008 Ethiopian Soccer Tournament in Washington, DC By 1978, Mahmoud was unable to release his songs on vinyl due to censorship rules.
