İbrahim Tatlıses (born İbrahim Tatlı in 1952) is a Turkish folk singer and former actor of Arab-Kurdish descent. Since the 1970s he has been one of the best-known and most successful singers of the pop Arabesk style. Tatlıses has recorded 42 albums, including notable albums such as Ayağında Kundura and Selam Olsun and was the host of the highly popular television programme İbo Show. He was also a leading actor that appeared in several dozen films, and also has had many business ventures. Life Early years İbrahim Tatlı was born in Urfa, Turkey to an Arab father and Kurdish mother. His mother tongue is Kurdish and Arabic. He lost his father during childhood and did not attend high school. He did not know how to read or write growing up. Musical career İbrahim Tatlıses is often regarded as one of the best-known singers of Turkey, being so famous that he has the nicknames "İbo" and "İmparator". He has had a critically acclaimed and illustrious music career in genres such as Turkish folk music and Arabesk, beginning in 1970 at the age of 18 with his first tape Kara Kız/Beni Yakma Gel Güzelim. He sold tapes and sang at weddings/restaurants until a producer discovered him in 1976. The following year his album Ayağında Kundura, featuring songs such as Ayağında Kundura, İndim Gülüm Bağına and Kırmızı Kurdele, was a smash hit and propelled him to fame. Some of his earlier songs have Kurdish origin and were translated into Turkish. From then on, the hit albums came one after another, such as the 1983 album Yalan, the 1985 album Mavi Mavi, and the 1987 album Allah Allah. He has recorded a total of 42 albums from 1970 to 2014. Film and television İbrahim Tatlıses has appeared in a total of 37 movies/TV shows, beginning in 1978 with Sabuha. In Turkey, well-known singers star in movies with the same name as the album they recently released, and thus the movies include songs from said albums. This is also seen in the 1975 Ayağında Kundura, its namesake being his smash-hit album. From there he appeared in numerous movies in the 1980s and 1990s, further cementing his colossal fame as the most famous singer and a quite well-known actor in Turkey. Aside from the cinema industry, Tatlıses hosted the critically acclaimed and highly successful İbo Show, which aired from 1993 to 2011. It was one of