“Everything I do is for Tigray,” affirms Sideshow, the Addis Ababa-born, DMV-raised rapper
earning a growing fanbase with a skillful mesh of storytelling, vulnerability, and militant social
commentary. Those qualities meld impressively on TIGRAY FUNK, a 32-song extravaganza
showcasing the breadth of his talents and musical curiosity. He says the project, his first since
2024’s F.U.N. T.O.Y., is a wide-spanning denouncement of the reductive labels that fans and
critics place on artists. The album is at home on 10K Global, a haven for artists unencumbered
by convention and expectations.

Sideshow was originally raised in the Arat Kilo section of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
He grew up as the youngest of three children in a tight-knit family, where he helped his cousins
as Listros, or shoe shiners, and also played games such as soccer and marbles. His experience
in Ethiopia taught him the importance of community and independence. At the age of eight, he
moved to Arlington, Virginia, to be with his mother, a journalist who fled Ethiopia after her bold
reporting upset state officials. They moved throughout the DMV.

He gradually learned English from immersion classes and TV shows like Family Guy and
SpongeBob SquarePants, making friends as his English broadened. His parents primarily
listened to traditional Ethiopian Mezmur music, while his sister introduced him to artists such as
Bob Marley, Fall Out Boy, and other alternative acts. As a kid, Sideshow had the sense that
music was an “adult thing” because he couldn’t relate to themes of romantic love, spirituality,
and violence. But he came of age during hip-hop’s Blog Era, falling in love with music from Kid
Cudi, Wiz Khalifa, Odd Future, as well as the late Prodigy for his grim honesty about life
struggles, which an adolescent Sideshow was coming to identify with.

Sideshow picked up drawing from his big brother, a craft he fostered while skateboarding,
making stickers, t-shirts, and graphics for his friends. He’s still a visual artist today, crafting the
album art for every one of his projects except 2024’s F.U.N. T.O.Y. While he credits a High
School teacher for imparting to him the importance of signs and symbols, he soon realized
school wasn’t for him. Making a living through art, by any means, became his goal. He left
Arlington, Virginia, to live with a cousin in Inglewood, California. What was supposed to be a
short stay became a life-changing journey that resulted in a music career. At first, he worked
odd jobs as a janitor and UPS mover. After a disagreement in Inglewood turned into a close call,
a friend of his told him to stop hanging out over there and find some “artsy niggas” like himself.

He then started hanging out in LA’s Fairfax district, interning at The Hundreds, where he met a
range of artists, forming a community around shared interests in art, fashion, and music.
In late 2019, he began making music with a friend. Months later, he ended up in the UK for a
photoshoot and became friends and collaborators with MIKE. While hanging out in an Airbnb,
MIKE jumped on Sideshow’s “Vrry Drrty_2” track (with Zelooperz). MIKE encouraged Sideshow
to put his music out there, which resulted in 2020’s Gingershot EP, Asked Amlak To Wash My
Hands, and his debut full-length project, Farley. Ironically, the fun he was having while making
music made him want to take his career seriously. Wicked Man’s Reprise was the first project
where he brought intentionality into every bar, with songs like the smooth “91 BMORE
RAVENS” that showcase his easygoing delivery and evocative storytelling.

Since then, on projects like WEGAHTA TAPES VOL. 1, 2MM DON’T JUST STAND THERE!,
and F.U.N. T.O.Y., he’s been on a path to “confuse” listeners by defying their expectations. That
dynamic is at play throughout TIGRAY FUNK, a winding project where Sideshow gets off a
range of flows, reflections, and stories over a diverse soundscape crafted by producers such as
Tony Seltzer, Pop Star Benny, and Fada Records (with Sideshow co-producing “BLAME
BURNAYS” with Ricky Spanish). On “MARTYR MOST HIGH,” TIGRAY FUNK’s longest song,
Sideshow veers through themes of restraint, ego, spirituality, and the lament that “for us to
progress so many have to die.” On “BLAME BURNAYS” and “LIFE’S AS VIOLENT AS YOU
MAKE IT,” he’s candid about the toll of the streets, rhyming “I used to serve auntie, it gave me
the chills,” on the latter. The project alternates between resilient, nihilistic, and pensive,
sometimes in a matter of bars, over beats that veer from doleful samples
(“ALENA(ኣለና)PARADISE LOST,”) to the claustrophobic hellscape of “ALMOST FAMOUS.”
He’s also taking new chances by singing on “MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE,”
“SIGNS+SYMBOLS,” and “3EEP IT 2OGETHER.”

Each song carries an air of mystery about where Sideshow’s going to go next, keeping the
extended project fresh throughout. Though there are many songs, there are relatively few
features, with El Cousteau, Niontay, Kelow Latesha, and SEXWORKS appearing alongside
Sideshow. He hopes the project not only shows off his talent but also inspires Tigrayan people,
who are at the forefront of his artistry and aspirations.

Along with continuing to pursue music, he wants to aid the rehabilitation of Tigray’s
infrastructure and create a political party called United Against Poverty, Urban Community
Development (UAP-UCD) to fight for a more equitable housing market and challenge
exploitative companies like BlackRock.