Life Happens
Singer Esther Rada combines her Ethiopian roots and Israeli vibe in her new, hit single
It doesn’t always happen that an Israeli artist gains international popularity, but Esther Rada’s Ethio-jazz hit single, “Life Happens,” was multicultural from the start.
“I come from an Ethiopian family, I was born and raised as an Israeli, and I love music in English — all of this makes me who I am today,” said Rada.
Rada’s video of “Life Happens” will run on the MTV and VH1 channels in the UK, France and MTV Adria, which covers Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia and reaches millions of viewers.
“Everything in my life affects my art,” she explained. “My history, my background, my everyday things.”
Rada’s parents fled Ethiopia in 1983 after a famine and traveled on foot to the Sudan. From there, the Israeli government airlifted them out during Operation Moses.
A year later, Rada was born in Kiryat Arba, where she lived for the first 10 years of her life before moving to Netanya with her family. Growing up, she remained closely tied to her heritage, but eventually turned away from it.
“I heard a lot of Ethiopian music at home, as well as Ethiopian language, but I started to tell my mom that I didn’t want to hear the language anymore. I wanted to speak Hebrew, because I felt different outside,” Rada said in a recent interview.
After joining the army and performing in the choir, Rada felt more connected to Israel. “I met a lot of people that I would never have met in everyday life. I was traveling to places in Israel that I had never seen before, and I learned to love the new locations,” she explained.
Rada’s new four-song EP, “Life Happens,” is a return to her roots; it’s a soulful and soothing mix of Ethiopian instruments accompanying the English lyrics. The title song, said Rada, is about facing one’s fears and not running away from your problems. “I wrote this song to encourage myself, and hopefully others, in their dark periods,” she commented.
She recently toured the US, appeared in the UK at the Glastonbury Festival, and plans to perform in Israel later this month.
“Music should have no borders,” claimed Rada. “I want to spread my love around the world.”
