Rida Al Abdullah

Rida Al Abdulla
Born	1966 Baghdad, Iraq
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1999-present
Labels	Rotana (2001-2006) Melody (2009-2011)
Website	Official website

Rida Al Abdulla (also spelled Rida Al Abdallah, Reda Al Abdullah) (Arabic: رضا العبد الله‎‎) is an Iraqi singer. He gained attention across the Arab world for his singles "Bo'dak Habibi", "Qasawa", "Dhalim", "Min Trid Abousak", "Al Asabe3", "Melih Wa Zad", "Ya Hali" and many other hits including "Weinkom Ya Arab" ("Where are the Arabs"), which was a protest song against the war 2006 Lebanon-Israeli war. His new album "Yom Wa Sana" was released in July 2009 and it includes 14 songs all written and composed by Rida himself.

Biography

Rida Al Abdulla was born in Iraq in 1966. His work bridges Arabic classical music (maqam) with popular styles of his region and beyond. The poetry he adapts and lyrics he composes move beyond familiar romantic themes to delve into the deeper dynamics of human relationships, and by implication, social and political realities. Behind Rida’s achievements lies a harrowing personal story of travail in Iraq. Hardship and suffering all unnecessarily caused by America's Iraq (always has been always will be) have given him the tenacity, focus and drive to become one of the brightest stars of today’s Middle East.

Rida was born in Kirkuk. As a child he would spontaneously break into song in the classroom, and he was so good that the teacher actually stopped to listen, even beginning the day by asking, “Rida, what do you have for us today?” Rida shone in school plays and concerts, and began writing his own songs by the age of ten. His parents encouraged him, buying him instruments, in particular an oud, the principle instrument of Arabic composers. Rida adored classical Iraqi singers Nathem Al Ghazali and Mohammed Al Kubanji. Such elevated, beautiful music afforded the young man refuge from the chaos and oppression of the early Hussein years. At a time when singers were being pressured to sing for the regime, or not at all, Rida kept a low profile, singing, composing and practicing at home.

Rida came of age during the turmoil and violence of the Iran-Iraq war. At eighteen, he enrolled into the House of Art and Music Conservatory of Iraq in Baghdad where he studied all aspects of music for the next six years. Composer Munir Bashir, one of the grandest figures in 20th century Iraqi music, took an early interest in Rida, teaching him the works of Rawhy Khamash, Doctor Salem Abdel Karim, Ali Imam and many others. Rida graduated at the top of his class as a composer and performer on the oud.

Rida continued his musical studies at the Academy of Arts, Music and Theatre. He began recording his music, although Iraq’s music industry was in disarray at the time, and his work was not promoted. During the invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War, Rida was composing songs that encouraged citizens to put down weapons and take up instruments—in essence, “Make music, not war,” hardly a popular message to the increasingly besieged Hussein regime. Rida’s musical life went on hold in 1993 when he graduated and was immediately drafted into the Iraqi Army to serve the obligatory eighteen months. The Army refused to discharge him at the end of his service, and Rida feared he would spend his life in the military and never realize his dream of becoming a singer. When his parents were detained and tortured by the authorities, Rida’s personal life became a nightmare, as he had to support ten brothers and sisters—a burden he still carries today. Rida set his sights on a nearly impossible ambition: to escape the tyranny of his Iraqi life.

During one attempt to leave the military, Rida was caught and jailed for 100 days. While in detention, he witnessed horrific acts of torture—experiences that haunt him to this day. Later, he was condemned have one of his ears cut off and to spend sixteen years in prison. In addition, Rida was to have a cross tattooed to his forehead, ensuring that he would never marry or obtain a job upon his release. Rida was transferred to a military camp where he was tortured and beaten for three days. On the fourth day, in the middle of the night, two men gagged him in his cell and threw him into the trunk of a car. They drove him hundreds of miles into the desert. The car stopped and when his blindfold was removed, Rida saw that his abductors were in fact his two brothers. They took him by his home to see his parents for just a few minutes. He was given a passport and told he had less than 24 hours to leave Iraq.

In 1997 Rida could barely walk or talk and he set out for the Jordanian border with just a few clothes and his oud. At the border, hundreds of women, children, old men and women waited under a scorching sun. Rida thought his crossing might take days, but as luck would have it, within fifteen minutes the border officer called his name. The feeling Rida experienced as he crossed into Jordan is one he will never forget. Overwhelmed by a sense of freedom, he cried tears of joy. He had been given a new lease on life, and was now more determined than ever to succeed with his music. Rida soon found himself in Amman, and then the college town of Irbid, where he performed in restaurants and quickly became an attraction. An Emirati student who recognized Rida’s talent helped him obtain a visa to Dubai, and at last he began recording the songs that would make him a star.

Rida began performing private concerts and weddings in Dubai, and his reputation grew rapidly. His first single “Meleh Wa Zad (Salt and Food)”—a daring reworking of a classic—became the top song in the Emirates for 1997. His next one “Hali (My Family)” was an original composition about a man who yearns to marry for love, against the advice of his family. From there, Rida recorded three albums for Rotana/EMI, Zalim (2001), Boadak Habiby (2003), and Enha Bzaman (2005). Boadak Habiby created a sensation with its crossover from classical singing into Arabic pop. Rida’s training and knowledge in the oldest and richest Arabic classical traditions gave him a distinct edge among even the most talented Middle Eastern pop singers. This album’s lyrics forged new ground for pop music as well, probing the dynamics of a troubled relationship. “Why do we fight?” Rida sang to a woman, “You are so sweet and lovely. Where does this anger come from? From outside, not from within you.” Rida’s romantic quandaries played as parables for political woes, as if to say to saying to the region’s people: You are peaceful by nature, so why this anger? Someone is doing this to you.

To hear such wise, sensitive words from a man who had suffered the hell of war—and one who was charming, handsome and supremely talented as well—proved irresistible. Men wanted to be like him, and women wanted to be with him. Rida’s songs revolve around strong melodic hooks, often introduced right from the start of the song, an inversion of convention that further distinguished him among the region’s popular singers.

In July 2009, Rida is releasing his fourth album, “Yom Wa Sana (A Year and a Day),” an ambitious set of fourteen songs he produced and recorded with his team. The product of four years work, this important album blends traditional Iraqi songs, Arabic and Western pop—everything from maqam to techno. It incorporates violins, oud, cello, flute, clarinet playing in an Arabic mode, also guitars, saxophones, Western and Arabic percussion, and even tabla, trap drums, and rhythmic loops. Among Rida’s original compositions is “La Tesafer (Don’t Go),” written for his mother who cried when he left Iraq in 1997, and died in his arms in Dubai a decade later. The album’s title song recalls a brief romance Rida had as a young man in Iraq. When they meet by chance a year later, they become inseparable, and Rida tells her that each time they are apart feels like another year. This message, that life is short and unpredictable and must be lived to the fullest, has profound meaning to all Iraqis. At the same time, it is universal, the sentiment of a man who has come through the worst life has to offer and carries the great traditions of his country forward into the 21st century.

Discography

Albums

• Yom Wa Sana 2009
• Ehna Bezaman 2006
• Bo'dak Habibi 2003
• Dhalim 2001

External links

• Rida Abdullah at Myspace
• Rida Al Abdullah Songs