In a career spanning over 30 years, Didi Kempot released more than 700 campursari songs for the lovelorn and broken-hearted, weaving all kinds of sad stories about people losing the love of their lives. Campursari, which originated in Central Java, is a song genre combining traditional Javanese and modern pop instruments.
Though he was celebrated not only by the Javanese, but also non-Javanese and people living overseas, mainly in the Netherlands and Suriname, Didi Kempot only released songs in Javanese language as, for him, music had a universal value that could touch people's hearts regardless of language, race, and nationality.
In 1984, Didi started his career in the music industry as a busker in Solo city, Central Java Province. With five of his friends, Dani Pelo, Rian Penthul, Comet, Hari Gempil, and Mamat Kuncung, Didi formed a street band named Kempot, or the"Sidewalk Buskers' Group" (Kelompok Pengamen Trotoar). Three years later, Didi tried his luck in the country's capital city, Jakarta, by joining a group of buskers in Slipi, West Jakarta.
Didi could have taken an easier route to launch his career: his father, Ranto Edi Gudel, was a famous comedian in Solo, while his mother, Umiyati Siti Nurjanah, was a traditional Javanese singer from Ngawi, Central Java. Meanwhile, Didi's late older brother, Mamiek Prakoso, was also a comedian with a renowned Srimulat group.
However, Didi was determined to make a mark on his own and become a singer. So, he dropped out of high school, sold his bicycle, and bought a guitar. Although he faced hardships, starting off as a busker, in 1989, Didi got an opportunity to sign a music label and released his first hit: Cidro, a Javanese word for pain or injury.
The song tells a story of a broken-hearted romantic whose lover chose someone else, although the two made a promise to stay together. Loosely translated into English, it goes: "Don't you remember? Our hearts blossoms. What choice do I have? It's my fate to get hurt like this. My heart breaks as I remember her promise. Never would I have thought it was all sweet but meant nothing.”
Short after its release, Cidro gained huge success not only in Indonesia, but also in the Netherlands and Suriname, as the song brought back memories of their hometowns among the Javanese diaspora living overseas. In some interviews, Didi would say his songs were better known in Suriname than in his home country.
Since 1989 until today, the song remains popular, mainly among millenials, a younger generation of Didi Kempot's fans, who call themselves "sad boys" and "sad girls". They have also dubbed Didi Kempot as the "godfather of broken heart", a more catchy epithet that appears to have never crossed the minds of older Didi fans.