Ethiopian Women In Music, by Alehegn and Asrat

2010

At the 51st Grammy music award, (February 2009), the best of the industry were recognized for their achievements. The highlight of the televised event featured, nine months pregnant rapper M.I.A, who took center stage to perform her hit song "swagga like us". This song brought together what entertainer Queen Latifa called "a rap pack" -- featuring Kanye West, T.I., Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne.

But this night was not only about the big shot artists. It also gave recognition to young and emerging talents. She did not win. But for an African artist Wayna Wondossen, just being nominated for a Grammy was a big achievement. She was in South Africa when she found out that her song "Lovin' U" had been nominated.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to see the actual announcements because we were in a remote area of Cape Town [South Africa) and we probably wouldn't get the broadcast there. So early in the morning the next day, I got up early and ran downstairs to the hotel business center. I went straight to the Grammy pages to search for my name and it popped-up and I just screamed," she said.

While in college, Wayna was crowned Miss Black Unity of the University of Maryland in 1995, earning a one year tuision scholarship and special honors for "Best Talent" and "Best Response to Question" at the 17th annual pageant. The following year, she founded a gospel quartet and performed with the group at the World Famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYwhere they placed as finalists in the Amateur Night competition. She traveled with the critically acclaimed University of Maryland Gospel Choir and regularly performed at churches  and gospel showcases throughout the East coast.

 

After earning a Bachelor's degree with a double major in English and Speech Communication from the University of Maryland, Wayna began her professional career as a Writer in the White House for the Clinton administration. But soon, the pull to realize her dream as a recording artist would prove too great. She left to concentrate on her music full-time.

  

“I would define myself as an artist who is constantly growing and searching for new ways to express myself vocally, lyrically, and musically. I search for the feeling of losing myself in a song, to create timeless music that speaks to people’s hearts and conveys important messages” she said.

Born in Ethiopia, Wayna immigrated with her family to the United States when she was just a toddler. As a young girl, she chased after her love of music by starring in popular musical theater productions like Annie, The Boyfriend, and Damn Yankees, as well as by touring with the children’s musical revue company Songs, Inc. Her college years continued to be a time of musical experimentation as she taught herself to play piano on the old Steinway in her dormitory.

Wayna soon received several opportunities to travel as a soloist with the gospel choir all the while unearthing her talent in singing. But it was after being invited to perform at her university’s annual tradition, for an audience. A Tribute to African Women, that Wayna ended up writing the ballad that became her first original piece performed for an audience..“On that day,” she recalls, “music became more than a form of entertainment or a source of comfort to me. I began to see it as a tool to heal and inspire people, including myself.”

Asked to identify her role models in the music world, Wayna chooses the colorful sounds of Chaka Khan, Donnie Hathaway, Billy Holiday, Stevie Wonder and the ’70s soul singer Minnie Riperton. She also enjoys listening to contemporary artists ranging from the soulful voices of D’Angelo and Jill Scott to emerging spoken word performer W. Ellington Felton.