Ibrahim Tatlises (born January 1, 1952, Sanliurfa) or Ibrahim Tatli, with his real name, is a Turkish singer, producer, actor, director, television programmer, businessman. Apart from his music career, Ibrahim Tatlises has also made various investments in the food, construction and search and rescue sectors. Tatlises, who became famous with the Kundura ballad on his feet, has released more than thirty albums to date, acted as an actor and director in many films, and hosted the 20th anniversary of the Ibo Show this year. Tatlises is known in Turkey as well as in Greece and the Middle East. His nickname in Turkey is the Emperor.
His childhood and the discovery of his voice
He was born in Urfa – in what he called a cave – in 1952 as the eldest of seven children of liver seller Ahmet Tatli and his wife Leyla. Ibrahim Tatlises’ father is of Arab origin and his mother is of Kurdish origin. From time to time, he made different statements about his ethnic identity. When asked what do you describe yourself as in a program broadcast on Kanal D, Ibrahim Tatlises replied, “My father is Arab, my mother is Kurdish, and I am Turkish.” In 2005, at the Erbil concert, Tatlises greeted the audience by saying “My father is Turkish, my mother is Kurdish, I am Turkish son, I bring you greetings from Turkey”.
When Tatlises was born, his father was in prison. He never went to school. When asked why he couldn’t read later, he replied as “if there was Oxford in Urfa and we didn’t go”. He started working as a child; He sold water and made a shout.
« I was a child. In order to earn 20 cents more, I was selling water in theaters shouting ‘Come on, ice cold water’. One day, a man sitting on an armchair suddenly got up. He slapped me 4 times, saying, “Shut up donkey, are we going to listen to you?” And those slaps I ate brought me this far. He worked as a cold iron master in constructions. He was discovered by a filmmaker from Adana while he was singing in construction. He first came to Adana and later to Ankara, where he took the stage in casinos and pavilions. He became famous with “Kundura on his feet”, which he sang at the Kınalı Pavilion in Ankara in 1974 and first appeared on Ankara Radio and then on television on New Year’s Eve. He moved to Istanbul towards the middle of the 70’s and started performing here. Here, he met the musician Yilmaz Tatlises, who gave him his last name.
MUSIC CAREER
He entered the world of music with the hits “Black Girl” and “Don’t Burn Me Gel I Love”. He received his diploma from the primary school he graduated from on 30 June 1976 from Kartalbey Primary School in Kilis. He entered the cinema industry in 1978 with the movie Kundura-Ceylan on his feet. In 1979, he acted with Perihan Savas in the movie Black Writing. In 1983, he played with Derya Tuna in the movie Sin. Ibrahim Tatlises shared the same stage with the famous stars of the period Gulden Karabocek, Baris Manco, Belkis Akkale, Arif Sag, Sezer Guvenirgil, Five Years Ago, Ten Years Later Group and Atilla Arcan at the Ekici Over Casino at the Izmir Fair in 1984. In 1985, she shared the lead roles with Hulya Avsar in the movie “Mavi Mavi”, directed by Ibrahim Tatlises. He founded İdobay Music in 1987. In the 90s, his fame expanded to Greece and the Middle East. Ibrahim Tatlises is also known as a director, actor, screenwriter, lyricist, columnist, composer, programmer and singer. Companies owned by Ibrahim Tatlises; continues its activities in the fields of food, film, production, tourism, aviation and publishing.
He released his album “Why” on March 10, 2008, and the album “Yagmurla Gelen Kadin” in May 2009. There is also a Kurdish folk song called “Semmame” which is widely spoken and discussed in this album. In 2009, he announced that he broke all ties musically with Yildiz Tilbe, the artist he had written and composed for for years. In 2010, he released his last album, Hani Futuretin. In 2021, İbrahim Tatlıses met with music lovers with his new song “Don’t Come” after 11 years. The single, with lyrics and music by Ceyhun Celikten, arranged by Sema Nur Kaplan, was released on digital platforms on April 16, 2021 under the label of Poll Production by Polat Yagci.
On September 23, 2021, Ibrahim Tatlises gave a concert in Istanbul Kurucesme after 12 years. Famous names such as Gulben Ergen, Safak Sezer, Aydemir Akbas, Dilan Citak, Levent Dorter, Aysegul Yildiz did not leave Tatlises alone in the concert at Kurucesme Open Air Stage. His daughters Dilan Citak and Elif Ada watched Tatlıses on stage for the first time. Tatlıses, who had emotional moments the first time he took the stage, described the concert as a national lottery that went out to him and said, “If God says, ‘Walk, my servant,’ no one can say ‘Stop’ to him. Everything comes from Allah. I love you, I count you. I am happy. ” said.
BUSINESS LIFE
In addition to his music career, Ibrahim Tatlises has made various investments by entering the food, construction and travel sectors. One of these, “Tatlises Cigkofte” is still operating. Tatlises TV is the music channel of Ibrahim Tatlises. Afterwards, he left Turksat. Broadcasting place and studios are in Seyrantepe. He landed on Turksat satellite with his own Uplink. Tatlises TV broadcasts mainly on Turkish music, as well as programs such as news, magazines, city guides, talk shows, and politics. It broadcast from D-Smart platform and Turksat 2A satellite. For a while, he broadcast on Digiturk, Cable TV and terrestrial broadcasting. It ended its broadcasting life on September 5, 2014 due to the inability to pay its debts.
Ibrahim Tatlises married Aysegul Yildiz in the hospital on September 27, 2011. While the Mayor of Sisli, Mustafa Sarigul, performed the wedding of the couple, Fatih Terim was the witness of the marriage. He divorced Aysegul Yildiz on 29 November 2013. Ibrahim Tatlises has a daughter named Elif Ada from his marriage to Aysegul Yildiz.
On the night of March 14, 2011, he was wounded in the head as a result of the fire opened by a long-barreled gun in Maslak during the Ibo Show program broadcast on Beyaz TV. Tatlises, who was subsequently taken to the hospital, was connected to the intensive care unit as a result of the 6-hour surgery. The official statement made by the doctors was as follows; “The artist’s life is in danger, but less than where we started.” Damla Buket Cakici, assistant to Tatlises, was also injured in the attack. A large-scale investigation was started about the attack, which was learned to have been made from a gray Fiat Linea brand car. As of March 16, 2011, the vehicle was found. The number one suspect of the assassination, Abdullah Ucmak, was caught.
The artist, who stayed in the intensive care unit at Acibadem Maslak Hospital for two weeks, was taken out of the intensive care unit on March 28, 2011, according to the statement made by his doctors, thus eliminating his life-threatening danger.[49] As of April 6, 2011, his family took Tatlises to Germany by plane belonging to the Republic of Turkey, with the desire to continue the treatments in Germany. A medical brain operation was performed.
In the Bodrum district of Mugla, the minibus containing the famous singer Ibrahim Tatlises collided with the truck and overturned into the stockade. It was learned that in the accident that took place on August 25, 2022, Tatlises was accompanied by his daughter.
