Manuş Baba

Manuş Baba — Biography

Born Mustafa Özkan on December 1, 1986, in Tarsus, Mersin, to a family originally from Diyarbakır, Manuş Baba is a Turkish singer-songwriter. He finished primary school in Tarsus before his family relocated to Antalya in 1996, where his father found seasonal work, and completed his secondary education there. Introduced to music as a teenager through a guitar his father bought him, he later enrolled in the Music Department of Akdeniz University's Faculty of Fine Arts in 2010, performing around Antalya as the vocalist of the band Güneşe Yolculuk.

He took his stage name from a childhood nickname: his grandmother called him "Manuş," meaning a sweet little child, while "Baba" was reportedly the first word he spoke as a baby. Manuş Baba built a following by sharing his own pop, rock and experimental compositions online and at concerts, releasing three singles in 2016 before his debut studio album, Dönersen Islık Çal, came out in July 2017. Songs such as Bu Havada Gidilmez and İki Gözümün Çiçeği later broadened his audience.

He has continued to tour extensively across Turkey and returned to the spotlight around the turn of 2026 with "Oldu Bi' Şeyler," a duet with fellow singer Nazan Öncel.