He was regarded as the most popular Oromo icon, as well as an influential artist in the other regions and urban areas of Ethiopia.

[7] In his early years, Birra would do small street-peddling in order to support his livelihood without begging people for money.

Though he had songs about his birthplace Dire Dawa and Oromia, he never uttered the word Ethiopia, as Oromo nationalists do.

In addition to Oromo, his mother tongue, Birra had the ability to sing in Amharic, Arabic, Harari, and Somali languages.

He gained appreciation from different contemporary personalities, including Eyoel Yohannes, at the time the head of Kebur Zabagna, who then recruited him as a solo singer in Oromo.

He joined other famous singers such as Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse and Bizunesh Bekele.

Birra traveled with the group through Ethiopia and Sudan to sing with well-known celebrities like Mohammed Wardi.

But Birra faced difficulties in Saudi Arabia, and proceeded to Sweden, where he lived for two years.

The funeral service was conducted at Muslim Cemetery in Dire Dawa, his birth place, after a farewell ceremony was carried out at a Sheger Park.