Photo: www.ahmetkaya.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legendfull biography
Ahmet Kaya
Person · male · Turkey · Malatya · born 1957 · died 2000 · recording since 1985
Turkish-Kurdish singer
official homepagestreamingdatabasedatabase
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Also known as 아흐메트 카야
Timeline
28 events▣ Album 24◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1✦ Award 1
1950s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Ağlama Bebeğim
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography1,036 words · 7 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1372354675
Biography
Ahmet Kaya (28 October 1957 – 16 November 2000) was a
Turkish Kurd folk music artist. Kaya was persecuted by Turkish nationalist celebrities and authorities. Kaya left Turkey in an act of self-exile, and moved to France, where he would shortly after die of a heart attack.
He was granted the Musician of the Year Award in February 1999 during a controversial award ceremony involving Turkey's most popular singers, at which he declared that he wanted to sing a song in Kurdish.
Early life and education
Ahmet Kaya, He was born in Malatya as the youngest of a family of 5 children. His mother of Turkish origin is from Erzurum, and his father of Kurdish origin is from Yağızatlı village in Çelikhan district of Adıyaman province. His father worked at the local textiles factory and the family lived in only one room until in 1959, which was the year the factory began to provide better accommodation to its workers. Ahmet often visited his relatives in the country side where he made his first experiences with music. His uncle Yusuf was a singer and a musician, who inspired him to build his own bağlama. His musical career was also influenced by his father, who bought him a real bağlama, after he had seen Ahmet giving "concerts" to the families chickens with his self-made one. From that moment on, still at a young age, he held concerts for the fellow workers of his father and his first official concert was in July 1966 at the age of nine. His life circled around music, and he toured the region giving concerts and in later years took up a job at a record store where worked after school. By 1977 the family had settled to Istanbul, where he and his father received employment at a phone company which was owned by Malatyans. He served in the Turkish army as a musician in the Army orchestra in Gelibolu and after he married in 1979 he and his wife settled into an apartment in Sarıyer, Istanbul. After the military coup in 1980, his environment became dire as several of his colleagues were arrested and sent to prison. He and his wife divorced in 1981.
Musical career
He played as a musician in the band of Ferdi Tayfur, through which he got to know the organized crime leader "Kürt Idris" (Özbir). In a moment when he was giving the son of Kürt Idris Bağlama classes, he was arrested due to a gun which was found in the office of the mafia boss. After his release from prison three months later, he staged concerts with Hüseyin Demirel, and the two soon approached the record label who was to produce their music. The musical relationship with Demirel terminated in tatters as the success did not follow the release of their first album, but Ahmet married his second wife Gülten Hayaloğlu, whom he got to know through Selda Bağcan, a well-known Turkish left-wing musician. Following the improvement of his financial situation thanks to the success of his fourth album released in 1986, he and his wife moved to the Beyoğlu neighborhood in a house close to the Galatasaray High school. With the success and a close musical relationship with Yusuf, his brother-in-law, and author of several of his songs his life became more organized and he became a father for a second time. Following his move to larger apartment in the fancy neighborhood in Valideçeşme, he was the target of criticism from parts within the left-wing movement who had brought him to this stage of his life. Still, due to the left-wing political aspect of his songs, he came to the attention of the Turkish Government. Following public statements regarding his lifestyle by his brother-in-law Yusuf, they parted ways. His financial situation and his political statements were still an issue for the left-wing movement as well as for the Turkish authorities, who in 1992 also briefly confiscated a Mercedes Benz of his, to which he responded that he could ride on a donkey as well if the Government wanted it. In 1994 he released his best known album so far, Şarkılarım Dağlara
Şarkılarım DağlaraSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Kum Gibi4:312Cinayet Saati5:173Gururla Bakıyorum Dünya'ya8:054Ağladıkça4:465Mavi'nin Türküsü1:276Ölüm Dörtlüğü0:387Özgür Cağrı6:108Sabır Kalmadı3:429Yalan da Olsa4:1210Yeter2:4911Bize Ne Oldu3:0912Saza Niye Gelmedin5:25, which included songs focusing of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish army raging in Turkish Kurdistan. In 1990s he and his wife established the GAK label, but even though they signed well known musicians the project was not crowned with a lasting success.
Awards ceremony incident
On 11 February 1999 during the televised annual music awards ceremony at which he was to be named Musician of the Year, Kaya said that he wanted to produce music in his native language, as he was of Kurdish background. He also announced that he had recorded a song in Kurdish (Karwan, released on the Hoşçakalın Gözüm album in 2001) and intended to produce a video to accompany it.
Following this announcement, he faced massive opposition from Turkish people and celebrities in the event. First, Serdar Ortaç started singing a song with modified lyrics to boost nationalist feelings, then people in the ceremony started singing 10th Year March. Later, Kaya was attacked by celebrities. Kaya's wife describes the attack as "All of a sudden, all of those chic women and men, they all turned into monsters, grabbing forks and knives and throwing them at us, insulting, booing. Imagine the atmosphere changing in just five minutes, almost a Kafkaesque transformation."
Exile and death
The incident led to a prosecution case which made him leave Turkey. In March 2000 he was sentenced in absentia to three years and nine months in prison on the charge of spreading separatist propaganda. Later, however, the mass media allegation showing Kaya in front of the poster was proven to be forged. He died from a heart attack in Paris in 2000, at the age of 43, and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. He is buried in item number 71.
Vandalism of grave
In November 2021, visitors of his grave found it to be recently attacked by unknown perpetrator(s).
Posthumous awards
In June 2012 the Turkish Association of Magazine Journalists awarded Ahmet Kaya its Special Prize.
In October 2013 Ahmet Kaya was given the Grand Presidential Prize in Culture and Arts in the music category on the day that would have been his 57th birthday.
Other languages
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 30 | 90.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 28 | 89.8th |
| Studio albums | 24 | 97.3th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 28 | 96.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 15 | 35.8th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (28 release groups · 24 studio albums)
Albums · 24
1985 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 55:05
1Ağlama Bebeğim3:452Kara Yazı2:523Suskun4:294Geçmiyor Günler2:565Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim2:436Kız Kaçıran3:497Şahin Gibi5:588Aynı Daldaydık4:369Maviye Çalar Gözlerin4:3310Bırak Beni3:2811Hikayemiz (Bizim)3:2912Karanlıkta4:4513Kurtuluş Savaşı Destanı3:4514Uğurlar Ola3:571985 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 39:21
1Amenna3:492Öyle Bir Yerdeyim ki4:353Acılara Tutunmak3:474Yusuf Yusuf5:165Gayri Gider Oldum2:146Kadınlar2:257Macera3:168Neden3:079Bu Dert Beni Adam Eder2:0310Güzel Günler4:2411Sivastopol Marşı2:4012Ortadoğu1:451986 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 46:39
1Şafak Türküsü9:022Kimdi Bunlar3:373Tutuşur Dizelerim4:234Geleceğim2:045Haramiler2:216Sel Dağ4:587Kore Dağları4:518Zeytin Karası2:029Haydi Git4:5810Potbori (Fabrika Kızı, Cama Çıkma, Fabrika Önü)4:3411Haydi Gül3:491986 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 38:44
1An Gelir3:322Büyüdün Bebeğim4:323Lili Marlen Türküsü3:554Çiğdem Çiçek1:485Tezkere6:236Metrisin Önünde2:577Üşür Ölüm Bile4:428Sen İnsansın4:549Şeyh Bedrettin2:1810Neyleyim1:1511Halay Havası2:281987 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 43:22
1Hani Benim Gençliğim4:172Alnında Dağ Ateşi2:453Yorgun Demokrat4:214Kılıç Balığının Öyküsü2:055Haçan Ölesim Gelir2:266Unutulmayanlara5:277Tut ki Gecedir2:138Yüreğim Kanıyor4:469Katlime Ferman2:4310Yaşamadın Sen3:1211Bir Veda Havası5:5512Bu Gala Daşlı Gala3:121988 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 37:37
1Beni Tarihle Yargıla7:122Başkaldırıyorum2:553Acı Ninni3:274İçerden Çıkan Adam2:535Herkes Kendi İşine2:346Gül Diken3:587Sorgucular2:588Koru Kendini4:099Uçun Kuşlar Uçun3:2410Denizin Adı Özgürlük4:071989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 52:57
1Kod Adı Bahtiyar6:112İyimser Bir Gül5:133Birazdan Kudurur Deniz4:244Bu Yalnızlık Benim4:305Çek Mustafa Çek3:136Evlerinin Önü3:547Doğum Günü3:088Kaçak ve Anne5:049Kardelenler Açınca4:5110Kaçakçı Kurban3:4711Yollarına Baka Baka6:2812Amanın Minnoş2:141990 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 55:00
1Ölürem Kardaş3:292Dağlarda Kar Olsaydım6:113Kod Adı Bahtiyar5:484Yemen Türküsü3:535Turna Semahı4:116Doğum Günü3:007Diyarbakır Türküsü3:008Deli Kuşun Öttüğü3:419Değirmen Başında Vurdular Beni3:1610Duman Çökmüş Munzur'a4:0711Ne Yandasın2:3912Başkaldırıyorum2:3513Hadi Sen Git İşine2:3114Üşür Ölüm Bile3:4815Gayrı Gider Oldum2:511990 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 40:40
1Dardayım5:092Eylül'e İsyan Gibi2:383Sevgi Duvarı5:594Kendine İyi Bak4:275Gaş Sabah2:316Karar Vermek Zor3:587Şiddet3:568Hep Sonradan3:389Şiire - Gazele4:0810Doruklara Sevdalandım4:161991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 51:12
1Başım Belada4:062Tezgahtar Nebahat2:533Hiçbir Şeyimsin5:374Kalan Kalır3:445Bir Acayip Adam6:006Entel Maganda3:207Ayrılığın Hediyesi7:168Yangın Gecesi3:119O Vahşi At5:2210Gel Haydi Gel3:1411Hasretinden Prangalar Eskittim2:5812Oy Havar3:311992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 49:19
1Pop - Opera - Koçero12:312Fadike3:493Ekranda CNN3:414Pir Sultan Ölür Dirilir3:495Vuruldum Düştüm Yare4:206Türk Köylüsü5:027Vicdan Mahkemesi4:378Büyü de Büyü2:579Bitti Mapus Bitti4:4610Yürü Bre Hızır Paşa3:471992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 49:13
1İçimde Ölen Biri4:062Dokunma Yanarsın4:503Tıka Basa Pastırma3:214Böyle Bir Sevmek3:495Bir Anka Kuşu5:256Rinna Rinnan Nay3:067Biz Üç Kişiydik5:358Sürgün Acısı4:239Merhaba2:4810Kenar Mahalleli3:2611Nevroz Ateşi4:2512Bir Minik Kız Çocuğu3:591993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 45:05
1Munzurlu5:202Tedirgin6:303Mahur5:184Layla3:005Grev (Dilekçe)2:336Derin Bir Ah Çektim4:397Yazamadım2:428Yalancı Ayrılık3:589Sevemezsin3:5310Ah!...3:4811Elektro Şok3:241994 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 50:11
1Kum Gibi4:312Cinayet Saati5:173Gururla Bakıyorum Dünya'ya8:054Ağladıkça4:465Mavi'nin Türküsü1:276Ölüm Dörtlüğü0:387Özgür Cağrı6:108Sabır Kalmadı3:429Yalan da Olsa4:1210Yeter2:4911Bize Ne Oldu3:0912Saza Niye Gelmedin5:251995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks
1Demek Şimdi Gidiyorsun2Dostlar3Herkes Kendi İşine4Kim Susturabilir5Potpori6Ah Ulan Rıza7Sanmayın ki8Tut ki Gecedir9Tutuşur Dizelerim10Uçun Kuşlar1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 52:00
1Arka Mahalle4:212Demedim mi Haydar4:433Telgrafcı Akif5:034Beni Bul Anne3:415Yetiş Nerdesin4:236Can Yoldaşım3:527Beni Vur5:308Diyarbakır Türküsü3:489Sen Yanma Diye (ilahi)6:1510Senin Derdindeyim3:1811Karlı Dağlar3:4412Süryani3:221996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 47:37
1Yakamoz5:262Gayri Gider Oldum3:173Kadınlar2:414Acılara Tutunmak4:015Öyle Bir Yerdeyim ki4:436Ağlama Bebeğim3:587Turuncu Gemi4:188Ben Beni4:129Karanlıkta5:0010Karayazı3:0611Şafak Türküsü6:551998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 56:22
1Giderim4:412Adı Yılmaz6:353Nereden Bileceksiniz6:004Dost4:035Bize Kalan2:356Fosso Necdat4:217Dosta Düşmana Karşı4:118Korkarım5:219Söyle4:0810Ay Gidiyor5:5611Mican4:0512Yazmalı Gelin4:262001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 47:10
1Siz Yanmayın (Sürgün)3:252Memleket Hasreti4:413Al Öfkemi6:194Telgrafın Telleri3:465Yakarım Geceleri5:406Karwan (Kervan)6:067Ada Sahilleri3:238Diyarbakır Hasreti6:049Hadi Bize Gidelim3:3610Hoşçakalın Gözüm...4:102003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 43:41
1Kürtçe Açılış0:132Bir de Sen Gitme3:573Halkların Kardeşliği Adına5:424Oy Benim Canım3:435Çökertme3:526Çilli Kedi4:287Dağlarda Ölmek İsterim4:168Niye Böyle Anne3:299Benden Selam Söyleyin3:5810Jilet Yiyen Kız4:3911Sensiz Yaşayabilmerem2:3612Nenni Bebek2:4313Selam Ederim Halkıma...0:052005 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 40:54
1Geldim3:302Gönül Yarasına Lokman Olan Şah2:183Kalsın Benim Davam (Açılın Kapılar)5:084Derdin Ne Senin3:145Turna Semahı5:466Baba Bugün / Sana Gelmek İstiyorum5:147Arpa Orağa Geldi3:458Sürmeli (Ne Yandasın)4:089Dersimliler4:2510Deli Kuşun Öttüğü3:262006 · studio album
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Tracklist · 26 tracks · 1:10:52
1Aklanacak Dünya4:032Nabzım Bir Devrim Sabahında3:013Buğday Tanesi2:524Mart Şiirleri0:185Dosta Düşmana Karşı3:5062. Kural0:4571. Kural3:4483. Kural3:119Sevdalıyım Sana2:1510Gereği Düşünülür2:49116. Kural2:0112Gururla Bakıyorum Dünyaya6:1913Son Yerine0:2114Nehri Destanı7:5915Bu Şiirin Kuralsız Son Sözü1:35167. Kural1:2617İçten İçe0:1418Dönemeç2:1819Büyü2:42205. Kural2:4121Umut0:0822Peşmerge2:4923Halkların Kardeşliği Adına7:11244. Kural2:2925Bu Sevda0:1426Çağrı3:372010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 17 tracks
1Başım Belada2Ağlama Bebeğim3Hani Benim Gençliğim4Mahur5Şiir (Munzurlu)6Kum Gibi7Adı Bahtiyar8Herkes Kendi İşine9Söyle10Fosso Nejdat11Mavi'nin Türküsü12Ağladıkça13Doğum Günü14Saza Niye Gelmedin15Şafak Türküsü16Giderim17Dost2023 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 49:47
1Bırak Beni3:312Yuhyuh5:113Yorgun Demokrat4:274Dom Dom Kurşunu5:005Tutki Gecedir2:116Almanya Beyleri3:287Katlime Ferman3:128Dostum5:119Hani Benim GençliğIm4:1310Güzellerin Duası3:0611Aynı Daldaydık4:3612Yaz Gazeteci2:3913Geçmiyor Günler3:02
Album · 3
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Resitaller 1Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 1:00:201Önce Dişlerimiz Döküldü / Lili Marlen Türküsü3:11 2Odam Kireçtir Benim3:54 3Ağlama Bebeğim4:10 4Kara Yılan4:15 5Amenna3:47 6Hani Benim Gençliğim3:53 7Geçmiyor Günler3:03 8Katlime Ferman3:28 9Şafak Türküsü6:37 10Dersim Dört Dağ İçinde3:48 11Yüreğim Kanıyor3:56 12Metris'in Önünde2:51 13Acılara Tutunmak4:00 14Bacalar / Kara Toprak (Mamoş)6:23 15Kadınlar3:04 | Live | 1 April 1989 | |
| 1990 | Resitaller 2Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 57:261Ölürem Kardaş3:27 2Dağlarda Kar Olsaydım6:09 3Adı Bahtiyar5:46 4Yemen Türküsü3:51 5Turna Semahı4:09 6Doğum Günü2:58 7Diyarbakır Türküsü2:58 8Hey Göklere3:39 9Değirmen Başında / Duman Çökmüş Munzura7:19 10Ne Yandasın2:37 11Başkaldırıyorum2:33 12Herkes Kendi İşine2:29 13Üşür Ölüm Bile3:46 14Halay Havası2:55 15Gayri Gider Oldum2:50 | Live | May 1990 | |
| 1993 | Resitaller 3Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks · 39:041Kaçakçı Kurban3:47 2Kardelenler Açınca4:52 3Kalan Kalır3:44 4Sorgucular2:56 5Oy Havar3:32 6Başkaldırıyorum2:53 7Şiddet3:53 8Bir Acayip Adam6:00 9Uçun Kuşlar Uçun3:21 10Denizin Ardı Özgürlük4:06 | Live | 1 August 1993 |
Single · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Çocuktum Ben (Canlı)Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 2:341Çocuktum Ben (Canlı)2:34 | 15 November 2019 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Ahmet Kaya head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 30 | 90.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 28 | 89.8th |
| Studio albums | 24 | 97.3th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 28 | 96.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 15 | 35.8th |
| Genres | 4 | 84.7th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ahmet_Kaya.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8fe27e3a-82b3-4002-a885-8c521a1bec14discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8fe27e3a-82b3-4002-a885-8c521a1bec14core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q401893genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q401893seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Kayabiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Kayabiography—wikipedia-tr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Kaya
Why this artist is in the database
- List of folk musicians
Tier rule: historic figure (30 language versions, career ended)
Image: www.ahmetkaya.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q401893 · MusicBrainz: 8fe27e3a-82b3-4002-a885-8c521a1bec14
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