Known for his well-memorized lyrics - many in standard Arabic - Al-Rayah collaborated over the decades with some of the most prominent poets and lyricists in his country
The Sudanese cultural scene has expressed deep sadness as the global pandemic took the life of iconic singer Hamad Al-Rayah at the age of 80 on Tuesday.
Many Sudanese and Arab cultural personas and entities, including the Sudanese government, have mourned the loss of the popular artist who inspired generation of singers with tens of songs.
The multi-award receiving singer, who served as the president of music syndicates for years, boosted the development of the Sudanese song throughout a long career that flourished in the 1970s.
He inspired the renewal and revival of various song forms and also introduced different influences in harmony and rhythms.
Born in Tuti Island in 1940, Al-Rayah showed diversified interests and hobbies since his boyhood, at one time playing football for Al-Merrikh SC in the late 1950s.
The young Hamad was shot out to fame as a singer after appearing in the famous local radio show of Ahmed El-Zobeir as a promising talent who followed in the steps of earlier Sudanese legends like Khidr Bashir and Hassan Soliman El-Hawy.
He gained a popularity with a series of important songs in the history of Sudanese music, like 'Maria', 'Wenti Kellek Zeinah', 'Henama Kont Habiban', 'Oskony ya Gerah', 'El-Saqia', 'El-Qalb El-Maqtoul' and 'Teir El-Rahw' to name but a few.
Known for his well-memorized lyrics - with many are in standard Arabic 'Fosha - he collaborated with some of the most prominent poets and lyricists in his country over the years, such as Abdel-Rahman Mekkawy, Ishaq El-Halanqy Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Borr Mohamed Nour, Omar El-Taib, Othman Khaled, Ismail Hassan, and many others.
Sudan has recorded over 1250 deaths from the COVID-19 so far from almost 18 thousands of cases. Until today, the globe recorded the loss of over 1.47 million of 63.3M cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic with many countries are racing times to prove the efficiency of their vaccinations.
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