Hamza Namira (Photo: Courtesy of Hamza Namira official Facebook page)
The decision by Egyptian state radio to stop playing songs by a number of well-known artists has provoked a stir.
The new list of approved artists, renewed on an annual basis, does not include well-known musician Hamza Namira.
Head of Egyptian radio, Abdel-Rahman Rashad, told Al-Ahram that the decision was part of a regular procedure.
Each year, a new list is created and it never includes all of the artists who submitted their requests, Rashad said.
He said not registering Namira was not targetting him specifically, but rather was one of the many names that did not make it on to the new list.
He underscored that it was a regular, annual procedure for state radio to revise the list of artists registered with the institution.
Each year all artists who want to be aired on state radio submit their request for the yearly registration. Not all of them are accepted.
The reasons behind choices are not revealed.
The decisions of the state radio do not affect private radio channels.
Born in 1980 and hailed as Sayed Darwish's prodigy, Namira is known for songs that touch on social and humanitarian issues. Having a very large base of followers – 4.5 million on Facebook and 2.4 million on Twitter – and considered one of the most popular Egyptian artists, Namira is particularly known for supporting the 25 January revolution.
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