Ahmet Kaya

Ahmet Kaya (1957-2000) was a Turkish poet, singer, musician, and songwriter. Kaya was born in Malatya on 28th October to a Kurdish father and a Turkish mother. When he was six his father, discovering Ahmet's interest in music, brought a large bağlama for him as a birthday present When he was nine he performed at a Labour Day's evening entertainment organised by the workers in the factory where his father worked... While at school Kaya had a part-time job at a cassette and record shop that belonged to a family acquaintance. This allowed him to get to know various kinds of music. The family left Malatya and migrated to Istanbul, hoping for a new job and a better future for the children; though his father was retired, his penson was not enough. Ahmet had many unskilled jobs, including tazi driver street peddling; he apprenticed at various work places, but never abandoned his bağlama. He wanted to study music, but it hardly seemed possible. In an attempt to keep his hope alive, he decided to finish high school using an opportunity given by the state whereby he could sit the exams but was not required to attend courses. His first album, Ağlama bebeğim, was released in 1985.