Alemayehu Eshete’s Addis Abeba Bete (1973) is a sonic monument to urban Ethiopian identity, fusing James Brown-inspired grooves with Amharic poetic tradition. The title (“Addis Ababa is My Home”) transcends literal meaning, framing the city as both physical refuge (bete/ቤቴ) and spiritual anchor through jazz-age metaphors. Eshete’s lyrics contrast Addis’ landlocked reality (“Not a coastal city”) with its emotional pull (“She secured my heart”), mirroring 1970s migration waves seeking opportunity in the capital. The brass-heavy arrangement – ascending saxophone lines mimicking Entoto’s hills – encodes tezeta (nostalgia) within a celebration of modernity. This anthem crystallizes a pivotal era when Ethio-jazz became the soundtrack of urbanization, blending imperial-era musicality with cosmopolitan aspiration. Its enduring resonance lies in this duality: a love letter to Addis that also documents Ethiopia’s cultural metamorphosis under Haile Selassie’s final decade.