Gawaher (Arabic: جواهر[ɡæˈwæːheɾ], born 1969) is a Sudanese singer and songwriter, who has been based in Cairo since 1995. She is known for mixing Nubian and Shaabi music with sub-Saharan tunes. She has dual Sudanese and Egyptian nationality.
Biography
Youth and first recordings
Gawaher was born in Dongola. Shortly after she was born, she and her father moved to Port Sudan, where she lived for the majority of her childhood and teenage years with her family. During her childhood, she developed an interest in music and sang during school celebrations.[1] She moved to Egypt in 1995, where the local music scene was stronger with more artists and music labels.[2]
During her first years in Egypt, she performed in a hotel called Aswan as a singer and belly dancer for tourists.[citation needed] She was later introduced to Shaabi music, which she then incorporated into her future projects.
Gawaher released her first studio album titled "Ḥikāyah Gharībah" ("Strange Story") in 1995 under the label Ibn Al Khatib.[3] The entire recording of this first album took place in Sudanese Arabic, showcasing a robust traditional Nubian flavor along with clear Sub-Saharan production and instrumentation. Although it had limited success, the release led the young performer to begin catching the attention of poets, producers, and publishers who were surprised by her strong voice. A local record label released the album in Saudi Arabia a year later.
In 1996, the singer released her second studio album "Marat al-'ayām." In this album, she collaborated with Sudanese composers and poets and wrote several songs.[4]
Transition to Shaabi
In 1997, Gawaher left Ibn Al Khatib, her former record label. In 1998, she signed a contract with a larger label that had important singers of the Egyptian music scene (such as Hamada Helal and Essam Karika) signed. In that new phase of her career, she released "Telefonak", her third album, which is notable for a radical change of style from typical Sudanese melodies to Shaabi music.[5] This album gave the singer her first hit songs, such as "Hamada". The success of these songs enabled her to record music videos and to perform on TV shows.
In 1999, Gawaher released "A Alkornĕyş", her fourth album, known for its titular track. The song was accompanied with a music video that was broadcast on Arabic music TV channels. Since then, her performances on TV shows started becoming even more frequent. This release included a collaboration with Ashraf Abdou, a regular producer of singers such as Mohammed Mounir, Latifa, and Hakim.[6] Thanks to the production and increased media attention, Rotana, a pan-Arabic music giant, released the album in the Levant region and the Gulf states.[7]
In 2001, for her new album "Samara", Gawaher collaborated with new producers such as Saleh Abu al-Dahab, who produced in the past songs for artists such as Mohammed Fouad and Amr Diab.[8] The most successful song of this release is "Haylo", which also turned into a hit.[9]
In 2003, the singer released her sixth album, "Ana Laka", which was popular for its titular song and first single, which was also accompanied with a promotional video.[10] This time, she balanced her habitually cheerful and typically Shaabi songs with deeper and more melancholic songs such as "Dawetek yama", dedicated to her mother.[11]
Hiatus and comeback
From 2004 to 2008, Gawaher took four years of absence from the stage for personal reasons. Afterward, she returned to the music scene with new collaborators such as Tarek Abdel Gaber, who composed songs for artists such as Sherine, Tamer Hosny, Samira Said, and Asala Nasri amongst others. "Enday", the title of the release, is notable for its nostalgic sound and its return to African sounds and the Sudanese dialect.[12][13] Since then, the singer diminished her musical activity until 2015, when she started releasing new songs such as "Gany alasmarany", a version of a famous hit originally sung by the Saudi singing legend Etab, marking her first song in the Khaleeji Arabic dialect.[14]
