Ethiopian superstar Teddy Afro, widely considered the country's most popular musician, has released a song that appears to sharply criticise the government, drawing over seven million YouTube views within days. The track, titled Das Tal (Amharic for "put up the tent," a reference to a traditional mourning ritual), mourns what the artist describes as a lost nation, with lyrics lamenting that he has become "a stranger" in the land where he grew up. The song's release carries significant weight in Ethiopia (a multi-ethnic East African nation currently led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed), where public dissent can be risky, and comes ahead of a general election scheduled for June 2025.