Sefik Ibrahimovic Kinko, the father of one of the biggest football stars of today, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, started his folk singing career in 1985 in his hometown Bijeljina.
Sefik Ibrahimovic recorded his first album in 1987, and four years later came out his second album, published by Sarajevodisk.
Sefik sung about the departure from his hometown Bijeljina in Sweden, in the immigrant settlement Rosengard at Malmo, where Zlatan was born, in his song that is dedicated to his hometown.
Back in 1977, on the same day when he divorced his first wife Slobodanka, Sefik Ibrahimovic went from his hometown of Bijeljina in Rosengard at Malmo, a place where a lot of immigrants, mostly from the former Yugoslavia, moved those years.
In Sweden, Sefik, like all our former gastarbeiters, tried to provide the conditions for a decent life. He met his new love Julka, originally from Bosanska Gradiska, who gave a birth to a daughter Selma after a year, who now owns a hair salon in Malmo, and next year their son Zlatan came to the world.
Marital harmony between the spouses did not last for long, and Julka and Sefik got divorced after a few years, and Sefik, who could not pay the high child support, decided to take care of the children.
Folk songs were his specialty, and by the beginning of the war in BiH he recorded two albums for Sarajevodisk, one in 1987 and the second in 1990. “Zlatan went with me in BiH in 1990 that one time, when he was 9 years old. I then recorded gramophone records for Sarajevodisk and I took him to see BiH and his relatives in Bijeljina,” said Sefik Ibrahimovic.
Sefik says that he is sure that he would make a great musical career if he had not devoted himself to take care of his son.
“If I devoted more time to the song, my Zlatan would not be what he is today in the world of football. I’ve dedicated my life to Zlatan and his progress. I sang in my country before the war, performed in the famous shows with the most famous singers of BH showbiz, I also sang in Germany, but when the war started, I was not up to the songs. Two CDs after the war are more like my hobby. I am not performing now because of Zlatan, not to misinterpret that I use his popularity. I am singing exclusively with my friends, on some occasions, you see, this is music for me,” said Sefik Ibrahimovic.
Sefik probably puts to sleep his grandchildren Maximilan and Vincent, Zlatan sons from his marriage with Helen Senger, with verses from the songs from his latest album.
(Source: avaz.ba)