Shantam Shubissa

Shantam Shubissa (born Mohamed Ibrahim Waday ,, December 1944) is an Oromo composer, singer and poet. He was born in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Along with musicians such as Ali Birra, Shantam Shubissa is regarded one of Oromia’s significant contributors to music during the late 20th century The stage name ‘Shantam’ translates to English as the number "fifty". It was given after Shantam released a song where he composed the same chorus in five different languages: Arabic, Oromo, Somali, Amharic and Harari . The word shan ("five") morphed into shantam ("fifty"); the surname shubissa ("dance") was added later. Together, his name is translated as "fifty dancer".

Songs

Shantam released many songs ranging from a variety of topics including love, nature and revolutionary politics. Although he has not released an official collection of poetry, his most famed classic songs include: Alaaba Nagayaa “Banner of Peace”, Naaf si uume “You were created for me”, Yaa Quburee “Hey Gorgeous” and Yaa haadha too “My mother”.

Awards

In 1995, Shantam was awarded for his contributions by the Oromo Radio Committee (in Melbourne, Australia). He also received recognition for contribution to Language and Culture, a lifetime contribution to Music and Arts Award in (Melbourne, Australia; 2000) and was officially invited back to Africa after decades in exile., as a special guest to open the Oromo Cultural Centre (Adama, Oromia; 2006). Shantam also toured United States, Canada and Germany numerous times, singing to Oromo people living in Diaspora.

Future release

In 2012, Shantam composed lyrics and music for 100 yet-to-be-released songs.