Early Life

Artist Kaleab ‘CAĹI CASSA’ Mebratu was Born in Dessie, Wello on 23/12/1996 e.c. he Finished his Primary school at Catholic Church School and Got his Engineering B.S.c Degree From Adigrat University. He is a Rapper/Singer with a vocal range between Baritone and Bass, mainly working on genres and sub-genres like JazzyRap, Alternative hip-hop, Pop Rap, RnB, and Moombahton.

He had always been drawn to hip-hop music since 4th grade, it was the only thing he cared about & connected with. Being around his big brother DJ Same, he developed a true love for music. Then through time the love of creating music, putting lyrics together, and trying to find out how good he can get in this game for the past decade resulted in a lifelong marriage with it.

Career in Music

All musicians have struggles that are unexposed to the world; for Cali, the hardest thing about being a musician was  Building a Team, Discrimination, Staying Motivated, Writers Block, Mental Health, Funding Projects, Not Having The Right Connections and Platforms, No or Delay in Publishing, Promoting  Projects, were of his struggles from many.

They say “if the shoe fits, wear it and if it looks good, make sure to put it on every day but make sure not to stink it“
that’s the reason he sites to pursue music & dedicate every minute of his life, so as to “not stink at his craft” as he puts it

In previous interviews, he mentioned that the key reason he fell in love with music was, Marshal Bruce Mathers III, Muluken Melese & Bahru Kagne’s word plays, similes, unapologetic bold reflections, Kanye West’s Controversial Creativity, Maritu Legesse’s Angelic voice, Yelawolf’s rhyme schemes, our own Honorable Gebrekristos Desta’s ill Poetry, and the biggest inspirations of them all, the experiences Life throws at him.

Cali’s first-ever live performance was at EHHC rap battle event 7 years ago and his first paid performance was at Alliance Francais for a 750 birr check.

He mentions his best performance was held at Mosaic Hotel along with The Black Note team where he opened the show with them.
He recalls,
‘...cause of the beautiful young audience, it felt like we were closing. That crowd was the most energetic audience I performed for, They were singing along with me the whole time & I had to my redo my song cause the crowd was screaming ENCORE! ENCORE! & wouldn’t let me off the stage.‘

Personal Life

Cali has a hobby of Writing Poetry, Connecting with Nature, Meditating, Metaphysics & Religion Philosophy, being Bibliophilist, and having long conversations with an old person in a quiet place. He spends a great deal of his time creating and sharpening craft. he reflects on what personally matters to him and formulates his own perspective of his world, hoping someone out there relates to his story. The time he got his biggest musical lessons was a while back while he was working with the pioneer, and the reason for mainstream hip-hop music in Ethiopia, Hunante Mulu. He widened his knowledge from just rapping on a beat to understanding the basics of Music like Creating melody, writing strong bars, rhythm, pitch, tempo, vocal tuning, arranging, and More.

He aims to influence his audience genuinely, he takes time to truly understand the musical languages that he is working on, so his music could move & influence the hearts of his people (CASSA & CASSECH), by giving them unique and universal experiences which is long-lasting and inspiring. he is the kind of person who enjoys walking all alone barefoot in the forest rather than going to clubs & parties. He would choose a Monkey & a Panda as a pet, rather than Dogs & Cats.

Creative process and future in Music

Artist Cali, like all the greats of his generations has his own creative process that has led him to the stage.

In his own words, “...first thing I do is pick a beat and pick a style to go over the beat with, then I record myself doing a freestyle to the beat. Most the time this freestyle doesn’t even have words, its more flow patterns. (Peoples around me consider me as a crazy person at this stage, cause what i say doesn’t make sense), after that I turn the hums or the rough draft into bars by filling the details, last process revise & refine it to make the verse strong by tweaking my words and reshape my flow & melody. Then what’s left to do is entering the booth and recording the song…“

In the future he wants to have a dedicated family and fans (CASSA & CASSECH) all over the world while he collaborates with the biggest artists. He wants his talent to take him all the way to the Grammy’s and BET Nominations and Awards. He also wants to be an independent artist who owns his full discography right.

Sewasew Multimedia

He decided to sign Sewasew Multimedia after he saw the same hunger and potential he sees in himself and he believe they can help him, take East African Music to the world & put his country’s name on the map.

“I see a bright and fruitful journey with, SEWASEW!”