
Dina El-Wedidi on stage (Photo: still from video)
Egyptian singer and composer Dina El-Wedidi was recently featured on Time Magazine's Next Generation Leaders list with nine other trailblazers.
Aside from El-Wedidi, the diverse list includes young people from Brazil, Sweden, Somalia, South Korea, India, Spain, Nigeria and the US, all forging new paths in their respective fields from politics to music, sports and sustainability.
El-Wedidi was described as a Voice of Hope, as an article for the magazine highlighted how her music "draws from history to inspire change for the future."
Since she formed her own band in 2011, through her debut album Turning Back (2014) and her latest one Slumber (2019), Wedidi has been fusing heritage sounds with influences from jazz, underground rock, and electronic music.
The feature by Joseph Hincks highlights moments in Wedidi's career that have inspired change, such as her participation in The Nile Project, as well as the Khalina Nehlam (Let us Dream) operetta with other Arab musicians. Capturing the Arab Spring of 2011, the operetta urged young people to keep their dreams and hopes alive.
El-Wedidi was on tour in 2013 under the mentorship of iconic Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil after winning the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. She has gone on to perform internationally in Europe and Africa.
This year she will be on a European tour as part of a collective collaboration led by Palestinian singer Kamilya Jubran titled Sodassi, a project that explores the region's musical history and future.
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