A protégé of poet Tilahoun Gessesse, Debebe first attracted attention as the lead vocalist of The Roha Band, a tradition-rooted Ethiopian pop band that has supplied accompaniment on more than two hundred and fifty recordings by such top-ranked Ethiopian vocalists as Aster Aweke, Tilahoun Gessesse and Mahmoud Ahmed. Debebe has also performed with Three Flowers, a group he shares with Tsegaye Eshetu and Areghagn Wersash. .