Ahmet Kaya
Encyclopedia
Ahmet Kaya was a celebrated Turkish
-Kurdish
singer who died on November 16, 2000 in exile in Paris
. He formerly sang in Turkish
. Some of his most popular songs include Ayrılık Vakti, Söyle, Ağladıkça, Oy Benim Canım, Birazdan Kudurur Deniz, Arka Mahalle, Nereden Bileceksiniz, Hani Benim Gençliğim, Yakarım Geceleri and Şafak Türküsü.
father, who had immigrated from Adıyaman to Malatya , and Turkish
mother. He first encountered with music was at the age of six when his father bought him a bağlama for his birthday. Ahmet Kaya worked for a while as a taxi driver
in Istanbul
before becoming well known as a singer in the mid-1980s.
His first album, Ağlama Bebeğim, was released in 1985. His popularity continued to rise into the 1990s when in 1994 he released the album Şarkılarım Dağlara which was sold a record 2.8 million copies. All of his 1990 albums to chart-toppers.
During his career he recorded approximately 20 albums and was known for his protest music and positions on social justice. Recurring themes in his songs are love towards one's mother, sacrifice, and hope.
at a 1993 concert in Germany, and that he had made statements in support of Abdullah Öcalan
. In March 2000 he was sentenced in absentia to three years and nine months in prison on the charge of spreading separatist propaganda. Later, however, the visual media central to allegations demonstrating Kaya in front of the poster was proven to be forged. He died of a heart attack in Paris in 2000, at the age of 43, and is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery.
Posthumous:
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
-Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
singer who died on November 16, 2000 in exile in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He formerly sang in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. Some of his most popular songs include Ayrılık Vakti, Söyle, Ağladıkça, Oy Benim Canım, Birazdan Kudurur Deniz, Arka Mahalle, Nereden Bileceksiniz, Hani Benim Gençliğim, Yakarım Geceleri and Şafak Türküsü.
Career
Ahmet Kaya was the fifth and last child of his KurdishKurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
father, who had immigrated from Adıyaman to Malatya , and Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
mother. He first encountered with music was at the age of six when his father bought him a bağlama for his birthday. Ahmet Kaya worked for a while as a taxi driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
before becoming well known as a singer in the mid-1980s.
His first album, Ağlama Bebeğim, was released in 1985. His popularity continued to rise into the 1990s when in 1994 he released the album Şarkılarım Dağlara which was sold a record 2.8 million copies. All of his 1990 albums to chart-toppers.
During his career he recorded approximately 20 albums and was known for his protest music and positions on social justice. Recurring themes in his songs are love towards one's mother, sacrifice, and hope.
Awards controversy
At 10 February 1999 televised annual music awards ceremony, SHOW TV, at which he was to be named Musician of the Year, he spoke out about his Kurdish background and said that he wanted to produce music in his native Kurdish as naturally as he does in Turkish. He announced that he had recorded a song in Kurdish (Karwan, released on the Hoşçakalın Gözüm album in 2001) and intended to produce a video to accompany it. At the event, he had been protested by some famous singers, actors, producers, journalists after his talk.Exile and death
Kaya went to France in June 1999 escaping various charges arising from his political views. Among them were the accusations that he had performed in front of a poster for the Kurdistan Workers PartyKurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
at a 1993 concert in Germany, and that he had made statements in support of Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
. In March 2000 he was sentenced in absentia to three years and nine months in prison on the charge of spreading separatist propaganda. Later, however, the visual media central to allegations demonstrating Kaya in front of the poster was proven to be forged. He died of a heart attack in Paris in 2000, at the age of 43, and is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery.
Discography
- Ağlama BebeğimAglama BebegimAğlama Bebeğim is Ahmet Kaya's first album released in 1985.- Track listing :#"Ağlama Bebeğim" #"Kara Yazı" #"Suskun" #"Geçmiyor Günler" #"Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim"...
(1985) - Acılara Tutunmak (1985)
- Şafak Türküsü (1986)
- An Gelir (1986)
- Yorgun Demokrat (1987)
- Başkaldırıyorum (1988)
- Resitaller-1 (1989)
- İyimser Bir Gül - Kod Adı Bahtiyar (1989)
- Resitaller-2 (1990)
- Sevgi Duvarı (1990)
- Başım Belada (1991)
- Dokunma Yanarsın (1992)
- Tedirgin (1993)
- Şarkılarım Dağlara (1994)
- Beni Bul (1995)
- Yıldızlar ve Yakamoz (1996)
- Dosta Düşmana Karşı (1998)
Posthumous:
- Hoşçakalın Gözüm (2001)
- Biraz da Sen Ağla (2003)
- Kalsın Benim Davam (2005)
- Gözlerim Bin Yaşında (2006)