Didi Kempot

Didi was born in Surakarta, Indonesia in 1966. Didi's father, Ranto Edi Gudel, was a comedian and singer-songwriter who often performed at the traditional ketoprak tobong theatrical stage. His brother was also a comedian. According to his brother Eko Gudel, Didi's childhood was full of misbehaviour and often fighting. After dropping out of Junior High School in Surakarta, Didi then moved to his uncle's house in Samarinda but his school there was not successful either. He then returned to his hometown to start busking. == Early career ==

He started working as a street busker in his hometown between 1984 and 1986 before moving to Jakarta. == Concerts in the Netherlands and Suriname ==

Although "Cidro" had no success in Indonesia at the time of its release, == Success in Indonesia ==

In the 1990s, Didi released the songs "Sewu Kutho" ("A Thousand Cities") and "Stasiun Balapan" ("Balapan Station"), which became hits in Indonesia. In April 2020, he streamed a live charity concert from his house and raised a total Rp7.6 billion (~$500,000) to help Indonesians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also released a song entitled "Ojo Mudik" ("Don't Go Mudik"), pleading his fans not to go back home during the Eid al-Fitr holiday season to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. == Style ==

Didi worked in a campursari (a Javanese word meaning "mixture of essences") style, producing ballads with influences of pop music and the local styles kroncong and dangdut. Aldo Sianturi of Billboard Indonesia writes that he is a "genius music conceptor" who are able to express the "depth and bitterness of love" in his lyrics, which are mostly written in Javanese, specifically the low ngoko register which is used as the daily speech by most Javanese speakers. == Death ==

Didi died of complications from cardiac arrest on 5 May 2020 in Surakarta. He is survived by his wife Yan Vellia and two children. == References ==