Ali (Tango) Abdella Kaifa

"A pillar of the Addis Ababa music scene in the 1970s to the 90’s, Ali’s prodigious output was the result of his skill at organization and self-discipline. His label, Kaifa became a successful independent record label in Ethiopia, producing some of the great, most uplifting and most enduring popular music in history. Ali, was born in Jimma, South West of Addis Ababa, to an Ethiopian mother and Yemeni father.

He started out assisting his father in the coffee trade in his teen years while still attending school. Ali also played football and encouraged his younger brother Ahmed Muker to play the game.  Ali’s father taught his children the value of family and hard work. When the coffee trade declined, Tango in an effort to carve out a livelihood, became an agent for Sony, distributing radio and television sets.

After listening to the captivating sound of Getachew Kassa’s song 'Tizita', Ali was hooked to the sound of local music. He decided to venture into the world of music business, eventually transforming Calypso Music shop -that his mother bought- into Tango Music shop in the early 1970s. The shop later became his professional address for more than three decades.

“Coincidentally, my shop was located in the center of Piazza in front of Amha’s Harrambee shop and I used to sell many of Amha’s records, which gave me insight into the potential of the music business,” Ali recalls. He says the business further deepened his desire to record and produce music albums in reel. At the time, the music recording industry was dominated by Amha Eshete and Phillips Ethiopia.

With Getachew’s songs already having left a mark on him, Ali always had Getachew in mind when setting up the business. Unfortunately for him, Getachew had secured a deal with Amha’s Harambe Music and Ali had to find other artists to work with. After securing legal license and recording for others, Ali would later launch his label Kaifa Records which later on become an integral force in the development of the modern music recording.

" - By Arefaynie Fantahun