Egyptian Music

Egypt is the largest Arab country, with about 80 million people living mostly along the Nile river running from Aswan near the Sudan border to Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea. As a regional geographic, economic and population center, Egypt is center of cultural production in the Arab world, and the Egyptian dialect has become widely understood thanks to the dissemination of Egyptian films, television programs and music.

The story Egyptian music begins in the colonial era before World War II. During the 1920s and 1930s, the most prominent Egyptian composer was Mohammed Abdel Wahhab, who adapted many poems such as those of Ahmed Shawky to music and made the soundtracks to many Egyptian films.

Abdel Wahhab often wrote songs for the most prominent singer of this time period and Egyptian music history is Om Kalthoum. Known as Kawkab al-Sharq (Star of the East), she rose to prominence in the 1940s and remained the adoration of the Egyptian public every since. With the nationalist movement and the revolution of 1952, Om Kalthoum became a national symbol for Egypt and many of her songs of this period are nationalistic in nature. She died in 1975, but remains probably the most well-known Arab performer throughout the world and certainly throughout Egypt.

At the beginning of Om Kalthoum's career, there was another very popular female singer named Asmahan, who was a descendent of Druze royalty and sister of Farid al-Atrache that moved to Cairo. She produced several songs and films, but died in car crash under some dubious circumstances, and rumors abound that she may have been a Soviet spy. Because of her mysterious beauty and her premature death, Asmahan is a legend in the world of Arabic music.

Abdel Halim Hafez is another Egyptian singer who became very famous in post-independence Egypt. He is known for singing love songs of epic proportion like Om Kalthoum and a trademark smile. Like most Egyptian singers of this time, he starred in several musical films. He died fairly young, at age 48 in 1977, and thus remains a musical legend in Egypt. In 2006 a film called "Haleem" starring the late Egyptian film legend Ahmed Zaki as Abdel Halim Hafez. The Natacha Atlas album entitled "Halim" is named so in honor of Abdel Halim.

Today there are many Egyptian pop stars, none more famous and legendary than Amr Diab. He became internationally famous with the song "Nour el-Ayn" during the 1990s, and remains the king of Egyptian pop today. Amr Diab is now known for his ageless face, which appears quite young despite the fact he is approaching 50.

Mohammed Mounir is an artist from Upper Egypt born in Aswan. He is known for blending Arabic musical styles with more African styles. He has also been outspoken about issues such as religion and politics. After September 11, he sought to learn more about his religion, Islam, and has since been critical of both Muslims who do not practice responsibly and Westerners who hold outrageous misconceptions about Muslims. He has also been a long supporter of the Palestinian cause, and a peace advocate in general.

The two singers Sherine Ahmed (born Sherine Abdel Wahhab) and Tamer Hosni have become very popular in Egypt during the past few years. They rose to prominence together with a mix CD that contained both singles and duets. Now both have successful solo careers and have released many albums.

Shaaban Abdel Rahim is a well-known and controversial figure in Egyptian Shaabi pop music. He is a sort of rags to riches story in that he worked as a low-wage laundary man for years before his songs became popular. His typically no frills songs focus on catchy lyrics and expressing popular ideas, such as his 2000 songs called "I Hate Israel" and his 2003 song "Don't Hit Iraq" have made him a beloved figure, despite his lack of fashion sense. Hakim is another singer in the Shaabi genre who has sold millions of albums since the early 1990s.

The first Egyptian hip-hop group to achieve success is MTM. Their 2003 album entitled "Ummi Mesafra" (My Mom is Away) was groundbreaking in the world of Arab pop music. Although some of their singles are mostly pop much like Will Smith in the United States, some of their songs deal with social issues using humor.